ICE sightings reportedly rise in Central California. 'Farmworkers are terrified'

Marina Peña, The Fresno Bee on Jun 12, 2025

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FRESNO, Calif. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reportedly been active in the Central Coast and the San Joaquin Valley, particularly in agricultural areas with farm fields and packinghouses, like Tulare, Fresno and Ventura counties.

In Fresno County, workers reported seeing federal agents and Border Patrol trucks in fields near Kingsburg,according to United Farm Workers. There have also been unconfirmed reports of ICE presence at a work center in a park in Reedley.

Meanwhile, in Tulare County, reports indicate that immigration agents were spotted near a field where farmworkers were picking blueberries, causing some to leave the area,the Los Angeles Times reported. In Oxnard, Ventura County, federal immigration agents were reportedly seen near fields and entering a packinghouse at Boskovich Farms.

Two organizations that have been receiving reports of ICE presence in these areas are the United Farm Workers union and Faith in the Valley, whose Valley Watch Rapid Response team serves Fresno, San Joaquin, Merced, Stanislaus and Kern counties.

Teresa Romero, president of United Farm Workers, says the organization has received many calls, as well as photos and videos of ICE activity and unmarked vehicles with people wearing uniforms inside.

“Farmworkers are terrified. The last couple of days have been very heavy and very difficult for them,” she said. “ICE has been driving around and picking up people.”

Romero said calls have come from Kern County, Ventura, Tulare, Salinas, Oxnard and other agricultural areas in California.

But it’s been difficult to confirm ICE activity.

“It’s in a moment of panic that people call, they’re terrified and they’re not thinking clearly, so they can’t tell you exactly where they are,” Romero said. “We have been getting calls from the Fresno area as well. But by the time we try to figure out where they are and we send someone, time goes by and they’re gone.”

The union says it’s been able to confirm some of the ICE activity from members, particularly in Kern, Ventura and Tulare counties.

“In many cases we still don’t know where people who have been detained are,” Romero said. ”It’s not a transparent process. It’s not fair. They’re picking up people that are working. They’re undocumented but they’re not criminals. They’re contributing to the economy and our communities. Many have children that were born in our country. This is wrong.”

Romero said the union has been holding meetings with workers about their rights. But she thinks the real solution would be for Congress to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, a bipartisan proposal that aims to address labor shortages in the country’s agricultural industry through the legalization of undocumented farmworkers and reforms to the H-2A guestworker visa program.

Meanwhile, Faith in the Valley’s Valley Watch Rapid Response team, which started in 2017, has also fielded hundreds of calls this week. They have a hotline, at 559-206-0151, where people can call if they’ve seen ICE activity in their communities.

“We have teams of volunteers that can respond rapidly to sightings of ICE in order to verify that it’s in fact ICE and not another county vehicle. It’s important for us to verify because we get a lot of false reports,” said Josth Stenner, a community organizer with Faith in the Valley. “If it is ICE, we send out alerts to let folks know in the community.”

Stenner said volunteers go through a two-hour training on how to identify ICE agents.

Stenner told The Bee they’ve been receiving calls this week about ICE sightings in Atwater and Fresno, Stockton and Kern County. ICE also has multiple offices in the Central Valley, including in Stockton, Fresno and Kern.

“Because of these offices, it’s not unusual to see an ICE vehicle. We also share this with folks,” Stenner said.

The organization also shares potential ICE sightings on its Instagram page, @faithinvalley.

“I want people to feel they have security in their communities and not have to constantly look over their shoulder when they’re just trying to survive,” Stenner said.

California’s U.S. Senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, both Democrats, said they are alarmed by the Trump administration’s latest actions.

“While the Trump administration repeatedly claims it is focused on violent criminals and gangs, their draconian actions tell a different story. Targeting hardworking farmworkers and their families who have been doing the backbreaking work in the fields for decades is unjustified and unconscionable,” they said Wednesday in a statement.

An ICE spokesperson told The Bee that ICE “does not confirm or discuss the existence or status of operations.” They also said that the results of the agency’s operations are publicly announced when they’re considered appropriate.