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- ICE arrested more than 70 people in the Fresno area, watch groups say.
- Watch groups said agents used roving patrols and targeted laborers at work sites.
- Officials and advocates said ICE operations involved racial profiling tactics.
Local officials and immigrant advocacy groups say ICE has arrested more than 70 people in the Fresno area this week as agents use racial profiling tactics and target work sites.
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The surge that started four days ago, they say, has not focused on warranted arrests. Instead, they report agents have patrolled places where immigrant workers are likely to be found, such as near agricultural fields and at gas stations in the morning.
“They’re targeting any laborers, they’re targeting transport vans,” said Nora Zaragoza-Yáñez, program manager for the Valley Watch Network, a group that tracks ICE arrests and assists detained people and their families.
Zaragoza-Yáñez was one of the immigrants’ rights advocates who joined various area elected officials outside Fresno City Hall on Thursday — during the regular City Council meeting — to denounce ICE’s reported tactics in the San Joaquin Valley this week.
Linda Martinez, an organizing coordinator with the United Farm Worker Foundation, told The Bee that agents arrested a man in Mendota on Thursday morning without asking him any questions. Later in the afternoon, he was released from ICE’s downtown Fresno office after his work permit was found in his wallet, she said.
Democratic California Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria said Kerman officials informed her someone in that city was also detained this morning while they were stopping for a pastry and coffee.
“I am deeply disturbed by the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations and the reports of racial profiling that are happening here in our community,” said Soria outside City Hall, her voice shaking with emotion. “No one should be targeted because of their color of their skin, the language they speak, their accent, or their last name.”
This week’s apparent enforcement surge in Fresno and Madera counties could be a part of the reported “Operation Safe California.” Using unnamed ICE sources, The Washington Examiner newspaper reported Wednesday that the operation is targeting undocumented immigrants — including those with no criminal record — for 45 days as the agency seeks to boost arrest numbers.
The Valley Watch Network confirmed the presence of ICE agents in Kerman, Mendota and Chowchilla on Thursday morning. Videos posted to social media in the morning also appeared to show ICE agents targeting workers near an agricultural field and at a construction site in Madera County.
Soria said she is concerned the fear surrounding ICE could “discourage our eligible voters” in the upcoming midterm elections, and she urged people to vote. Inside Fresno City Hall, District 3 Councilmember Miguel Arias gave a similar message.
“This week, the ballots arrived in people’s mailboxes,” Arias said during the council meeting. “For those of us who know history, this is basic voter suppression and intimidation of the Latino voter base.”
ICE has not responded to The Bee’s requests for information this week.
ICE observers: ‘Roving patrols’ targeting workers
Instead of conducting targeted arrests with warrants, ICE agents have been conducting “roving patrols” near work sites and businesses Latino community members frequent, Zaragoza-Yáñez told The Bee her organization has found.
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“With these roving patrols, they’re looking (for) brown people who look like workers,” she said.
Martinez, the UFW Foundation organizer, said her organization has found workers are being stopped “at 5 a.m., when they go get gas and are on their way to work.”
Zaragoza-Yáñez and Martinez both said the number of people detained this week in Fresno is likely higher than 70. The Valley Watch Network and the UFW Foundation are providing resources and education for detained people and immigrant families.
The Rapid Response Network of Kern, which monitors ICE activity in Kern County, said in a social media statement that on Tuesday there were more than 60 people detained in the Fresno-Madera area and parts of the Central Coast.
Fresno councilmembers speak on ICE actions
At the Fresno City Council meeting, some councilmembers spoke against this week’s ICE actions.
District 1 Councilmember Annalisa Perea said her office is putting together a list of resources “to arm people with the right information with all their legal rights.”
Arias suggested the immigrant community should not attend the Big Fresno Fair, which opened Wednesday, as people’s safety cannot be guaranteed, he said.
In a statement to The Bee, a spokesperson with The Big Fresno Fair said its priority is “to provide a safe, welcoming and family-friendly environment for all.”
“We work diligently with local law enforcement and public safety partners to provide a safe environment and keep our community informed,” the statement said. “To date, we have received no information regarding any planned federal activity at the Fair and the safety and well-being of all Fairgoers remains our shared priority with our public safety partners.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2026 at 5:59 PM with the headline “Over 70 ICE arrests this week in Fresno area as laborers are profiled, watch groups say.”
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