On June 26, the May 1 Committee for Immigrant Rights, local community members and human rights advocates gathered in front of Fresno City Hall to “call for a halt to the disinformation campaign regarding the threatened ICE raid at the Cherry Auction” in Fresno on June 14 and to call on local businesses to defend the immigrant community.
At the June 12 Fresno City Council meeting, Council Member Miguel Arias stated that “we have learned that this weekend ICE is planning to engage in a massive immigration raid at the Cherry Auction in Fresno.”
ICE officials denied that there was a planned raid, and Arias has been heavily criticized for his statement, which led to low attendance at the June 14 auction.
Various speakers at the press conference defended Arias and noted that his statement was based on “reliable” information.
May 1 Committee leader Leonel Flores said that “we are here to support the immigrant community, to stop deportations and support our people who spend their money in businesses where they feel safe.” Flores and other advocates are urging businesses to post the following notification at their locale:
“This is a private business. You are not permitted to enter non-public areas of this business (including offices, break rooms, storage areas and staff-only areas) without a valid JUDICIAL WARRANT signed by a judge or magistrate.
“An ICE administrative warrant (Form I-200 or 1-205) does not authorize entry into private areas of this business. You may not question employees or search the premises without proper legal authority. All employees and visitors have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.
“IF YOU ATTEMPT TO ENTER THIS BUSINESS WITHOUT A VALID JUDICIAL WARRANT, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE. IF YOU PRESENT A JUDICIAL WARRANT, PLEASE NOTIFY MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL COUNSEL IMMEDIATELY BEFORE PROCEEDING. IF YOU ENTER, YOU ARE TRESPASSING, AND WE WILL SEEK LEGAL RECOURSE.
“This policy is in compliance with: U.S. Constitution, 4th Amendment, California Government Code Section 7285.1, California Labor Code Section 1019.2, Immigrant Worker Protection Act (AB 450).”
Longtime local civil rights advocate Gloria Hernandez, citing the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, said that “the Border Patrol can’t just wade into communities snatching up people without due process, just for being brown.
“We will continue to fight together for the civil rights of every farmworker and immigrant. I would like to remind businesspeople out there that the Constitution applies to them.
“You should stand firm and support your contractors, your vendors and your consumers. Let’s work together not only to preserve everyone’s constitutional rights [but also to] focus on the economy of the Valley.”
Hernandez’s statement on snatching people up has been verified locally. Omar Rashad of Fresnoland recently reported on the arrest of two men at Fresno and L streets on June 15 by masked men.
“When federal agents arrested two men outside an office in downtown Fresno on Father’s Day, they weren’t wearing anything readily identifying themselves as immigration authorities,” Rashad reported.” Most of them wore masks and sunglasses obscuring their faces, along with dark T-shirts and jeans.
“The vehicles they drove were unmarked. The lack of clear identification by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have caused confusion and fear in communities across the United States.
“In Fresno, local police, elected officials and immigrant rights attorneys are troubled by it, too.”
Stan Santos, immigrant rights advocate and co-founder of Raza Against War, said that “the immigrant community and the business community should look at themselves as one community, but I have to say, based on some of the images I have seen, when we have a man that was running a weedeater in a commercial business district thrown to the ground and beaten violently on video as if to say ‘we don’t care who sees this,’ are we acting as one community?”
Santos was referring to the beating and arrest of Narcisco Barranco, a father of three U.S. Marines, by masked federal agents on June 21 in Santa Ana, Calif. He was arrested and detained while working as a landscaper at an IHOP.
Santos said that “this is not an isolated case. We’ve seen it again and again.
“In Santa Fe Springs, 60 or 70 agents, along with the U.S. Marines, raided a flea market, causing people to run and causing chaos.” Several people were arrested for “administrative violations” at the swap meet. Now, municipal officials throughout Orange County are considering whether swap meets should even be held in these current circumstances.
“It really hurts me, what’s happening, people being treated like animals, treated like dogs, knocked to the ground and beaten up,” noted May 1 Committee member Guadalupe Gutierrez. “This has to stop, it has to change or it’s going to create more violence.”
Regarding the threatened raid at the Cherry Auction, Gutierrez said, “I read something, and again, I’m not positive that [those who operate the auction] are Trump supporters. They are not going to be helping the people, they are going to be supporting ICE.
“Any business that is not supporting the immigrant community, we should not be supporting them.”
ICE has been conducting more arrests of individuals without prior criminal convictions or charges, and some are being detained without clear communication about their location or legal status.
Legal advocates and community organizations have reported difficulties in locating individuals in ICE custody, even after days or weeks. This lack of transparency has led to the use of the term “disappeared” in reference to these individuals.
The most recent analysis of ICE arrests by the numbers, published by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) on June 15, indicates that 56,397 people are in detention. The report further states that 71.7% of those arrested (40,433) have no criminal record.
ICE classifies a convicted criminal as anyone convicted of any criminal violation, even a violation that results in only a fine, such as walking a dog without a leash, fishing without a permit or driving with a broken taillight. Illegal entry into the United States is also considered a criminal violation.
As the violent attacks and, some say, kidnappings by masked men continue, support for ICE and these actions is rapidly diminishing. A recent accounting by the well-established Quinnipiac survey, conducted around the time of the LA protests in opposition to ICE raids on workplaces (June 5–9), showed 56% disapproval of the President’s handling of deportations.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 50% of people disapproved of Trump’s response to the protests so far, whereas 35% approved. By a 49% to 40% margin, they said he’s gone too far with the arrests of immigrants.
Although immigrant rights advocates are not calling for any boycotts of local businesses at this time, they are urging customers to support local businesses that support immigrants.
As Hernandez said at the press conference, “I am on a budget, but I will most certainly shop only where all people are welcome with open arms and open hearts.”
