A look at the immigration raids, protests in Central Valley as 'immigration crackdown' continues

ByGabe Ferris

Thursday, February 13, 2025

A look at the immigration raids, protests in Central Valley as 'immigration crackdown' continues

Immigration raids that began in early January in the Central Valley triggered widespread fear, protests and boycotts.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Immigration raids began stoking fears in the Valley last month. They started on January 7 in Kern County.

Officials called it "Operation Return to Sender."

Video from a Bakersfield Chevron shows Border Patrol agents questioning Latino customers.

Between January 7 and January 9, agents detained 78 immigrants as part of that operation.

The crackdown prompted an emergency press conference in Fresno, where Congressman Jim Costa shared his conversation with the CBP commissioner.

"I asked whether or not that was the extent of it," Rep. Costa said on January 11. "He told me that they had concluded their effort as a result of their arrest as of a day or two ago and that they would reassess where they would go from there."

As officials briefed the media, concerned citizens took to the streets. Hundreds protested in North Fresno for more than 12 hours that weekend.

"How am I going to leave in the morning?" farmworker Gabriel Viarolin said in Spanish on January 12.

"I work in Madera, and I heard they were on Seventh Street in Madera," he said. "I cross that street every day. How am I going to cross that street again? I'm going to stay home instead."

There were soon reports of Border Patrol agents in Fresno County, and the number of detained immigrants ballooned from 78 to more than 190 in less than a week.

President Trump was just taking office.

"I will send troops to the Southern Border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country," the president said at his Inauguration on January 20.

The president immediately signed Executive Orders declaring a national emergency.

In the Valley, immigrants scrambled to understand their rights.

"It's really important we show them that they have rights, but we also give them the material to carry with them to be able to exercise those rights," advocate Flor Martinez-Zaragoza said on January 30. She was distributing red cards with information about resources and rights for immigrants.

It had been just three weeks since the first raid in Kern County.

The fears and furor kept growing. From UC Merced to Sanger, demonstrators stood in solidarity.

"No fear. No hate. No ICE in our state," a protester chanted on February 3.

Hundreds stayed home from work and school, and they boycotted businesses. It was a "Day Without Immigrants."

"There's many of us," protester Reyna Medrano said. "We are the children of immigrants, and we are here to fight for the rights of our people and our families."

But not everybody has been protesting.

Some local leaders are doubling down. Mayor Pro Tem Diane Pearce pushed to make Clovis the first non-sanctuary city in the county.

"Nothing is more important than tracking down those who would harm members of our community," she wrote online.

But the video that captured the first raid in Bakersfield last month showed federal agents casting a wider net. It is that reality Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez says is now spreading through the community.

"I had a meeting with a lot of agricultural leaders," Chavez said on Wednesday. "They're still seeing a lot of fear and angst in our community. Folks are just not showing up to work."

Several school districts have reported high absenteeism among immigrant students in recent weeks.

President Trump keeps doubling down, saying anyone who is in the country illegally can and will be deported.

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