Local and National ICE Out Protests Grow
On Jan. 31, thousands of protesters across the United States demonstrated against the federal government’s immigration detention centers, enforcement policies, ICE tactics in Minneapolis and ICE violence elsewhere. In Fresno, more than 400 community members rallied at Blackstone and Nees avenues at a protest organized by Peace Fresno. There were protests there every Saturday in February.
Fresno Resistance has organized regular Tuesday night protests at the ICE headquarters in downtown Fresno. Faith in the Valley organized a multifaith prayer vigil at the Fresno ICE facility on Feb. 4. The event was well attended, and another vigil is planned for March 4.
There were numerous student walkouts nationally and locally Feb. 9–13. The anti-ICE trend is growing, and a recent AP poll indicates that 60% of Americans now call for abolishing ICE.
The demonstrations in Fresno are diverse and continue to grow. Participants are always willing to express their views:
“I’ve been meaning to go to a protest,” said Mila, 18, of Fresno. “I’ve been seeing how bad this country is getting. It keeps sinking lower and lower, with all the white nationalism and people being deported because of their skin color.
“We’re seeing fascism; it’s the final stage of capitalism. We need to do something as a collective.
“The politicians are disappointing us, they’re not fighting fascism. We, the people, have to do it together.
“We need a general strike. They are unable to ignore our power as workers and consumers.”
“I am out here to support my community and stand up for what’s right,” says Luna Fontes, 18, of Fresno. “I would tell Trump, ‘you are killing innocent people and you will pay for it some day.’
“We’re gonna be out here protesting. We will fight for what’s right and be a beacon for other people who can’t be out here. A beacon of hope.
“We will fight for those who can’t, the victims and survivors of ICE.”
Jose Luis Corilla Sanchez of Peace Fresno says that “we need boycotts [and] strikes, and we need to educate ourselves about the issues and the problems we are facing.
“For example, this is Black History Month and we need to learn where American fascism comes from; actually, it’s a foundation of American slavery and murder.”
“I’m out here today because it makes me angry,” intones Gene Richards, a Fresno resident. “Every day, I wake up angry [that] the people of Minneapolis had their town invaded by a paramilitary force, and now I don’t know if the Democrats can take the midterms.
“This country is going to hell, what a country; I’m embarrassed.”
Josh Shurley of Veterans for Peace is going on a delegation to Venezuela to see the sites of the U.S. bombing attacks and meet some of the families of the people in the coastal communities murdered by U.S. missile strikes.
He said that deportations, ICE raids, the militarization of American cities and the attack on Venezuela are all connected. “It’s all from the same imperial system. The system of exploitation and resource extraction.
“What we do abroad, the military dominance, the resource extraction, is ingrained in our culture. It’s in our DNA, it’s hard to totally escape the mindset we’re conditioned to.”
Youth Rising
During the week of Feb. 9–13, students from at least 15 middle and high schools in the Fresno Unified School District, along with four high schools in the Clovis Unified School District, walked out to protest against ICE raids. Major protests included walkouts from Fresno High, Sunnyside High, Bullard High, Hoover High, Washington Union High, Buchanan High and Sanger High, with hundreds of students involved throughout the week. There were also student walkouts in Kerman and Firebaugh.
The Clovis Police Department announced that it intends to charge parents who allegedly helped organize student anti-ICE walkouts at four high schools in Clovis with the misdemeanor crime of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which can result in a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
In addition, the Clovis Unified School District is enforcing its truancy policy for students who participated in the walkouts. The district is using camera surveillance to identify students who left campus without proper checkout procedures, marking these absences as unexcused, as reported by the Collegian.
Social media posts and recorded interviews from students who participated in the walkouts included these comments:
“I feel like everyone has to support each other, because, at the end of the day, we’re all the same,” said Martha, a student.
Neavan Ward, a Clovis High senior, said, “I believe in standing up for everybody.”
Jocelyn V., a student from Duncan High, said, “It’s not just immigrants, we’ve even seen that U.S. citizens have been taken. If we don’t take a stand, then, the power is going to stay in the wrong hands.”
Sophomore student Joshua Lao said, “A bunch of my friends are here with me and we’re all standing together for human rights.”
A student named Gen said that “it’s important for us as youth to go out and protest because it’s our First Amendment right.”
Prepare to Resist Detention Centers
Thirty-two people died in ICE custody in 2025, according to a report in the Guardian. Six people have died in ICE custody since Jan. 1 of this year, according to the American Council on Immigration.
People are dying from inadequate medical care, substandard facility conditions and, in some cases, violence or neglect. The ACLU has stated that 95% of the deaths were avoidable with adequate medical care.
Detainees have reported being beaten, slammed, stomped on and having their testicles crushed by officers, including while restrained. Reports include accounts of sexual assault and harassment by guards.
There is excessive use of solitary confinement, including for individuals protesting conditions. And, there are reports of guards using chemical agents like pepper spray on protesters who complain about the conditions in the facility.
Now, the Trump administration is seeking contractors to help it overhaul the nation’s immigrant detention system in a plan that includes renovating industrial warehouses to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees at a time, according to a draft solicitation reviewed by the Washington Post. Democracy Now reports that ICE has $80 billion allocated in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget for this.
Based on reports from early February 2026, the DHS and ICE are actively purchasing and scouting large industrial warehouses across the United States to convert into detention centers.
Although specific, confirmed purchases in the immediate Fresno area have not been finalized in the latest reports, the agency is actively scouting locations to expand detention capacity in California and the Central Valley.
ICE is moving away from temporary, tent-based camps toward purchasing and retrofitting permanent “mega warehouse” facilities to house thousands of detainees.
The agency has already purchased large, former shipping/industrial warehouses in Arizona for $70 million, as well as sites in Georgia, Texas and Maryland. A major focus of the expansion is in California.
U.S. senators have toured the California City Detention Facility (about 100 miles from Los Angeles), which recently became the state’s largest ICE center. Local and state authorities, as well as community members, have staged protests and are exploring legal options to block these conversions in several, often smaller, communities.
While there are no confirmed reports that a specific Fresno warehouse was purchased as of our deadline, ICE has previously used locations in the Fresno area for processing and detention. Furthermore, reports indicate that ICE is actively looking to secure more capacity in the Central Valley, with advocates warning that vacant or shuttered prison facilities in the region are prime targets.
Privatized Immigration Detention Centers
ICE facilities are owned or operated by private companies holding individuals for immigration violations. These are for-profit detention facilities run by operators like CoreCivic or GEO Group, corporations with shareholders. They are considered private civil detention sites; these facilities are legally meant to be civil, rather than criminal, in nature.
These contracts highlight the business aspect and the profit-driven nature of holding immigrants. The lucrative nature of these contracts for private corporations and their shareholders increases the likelihood of broad expansion.
The two largest operators are GEO Group and CoreCivic. Nearly 90% of all people in ICE custody are held in these private facilities. These facilities are frequently criticized for poor conditions, including issues with food and medical care, yet they continue to be used by the government. Expanding these facilities to the Central Valley will be met with local resistance, from all indications.
