Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer Addresses ICE Operations at U.S. Mayors' Meeting

Fresno mayor Jerry Dyer used a national mayors' meeting in Washington, D.C., to press for changes to how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates in cities, saying the agency should temporarily pull back to regroup and retrain. Dyer framed his appeal as rooted in public trust and professional standards, not as an attack on the agency's mission.

Dyer spoke at a press conference and on a panel during the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 94th Winter Meeting, with a panel photo dated Jan. 28, 2026 showing him alongside Oklahoma City mayor David Holt and Omaha mayor John Ewing, Jr. Drawing on four decades in local law enforcement, including 18 years as Fresno police chief, Dyer stressed that local departments and federal agents should be held to the same expectations for training and de-escalation. “We do not participate in any type of immigration enforcement or raids. That’s not our job. We enforce local laws,” Dyer said, underscoring a separation between municipal policing and federal immigration operations.

Dyer urged ICE to “pause and reassess how it operates in cities” and said agents “need more training, accountability and a renewed focus on de-escalation.” He added that local law enforcement should expect ICE to meet the same professional standards: “We want them to be held to the same standard that we hold our local police departments to professional, well trained, and de-escalating situations whenever possible.” Dyer also told the gathering that after 40 years in the Fresno police department he had learned “you have to earn the trust of the people in which you serve. And that trust is very delicate and it's hard to gain and easy to lose.”

Dyer balanced his calls for reform with support for certain federal goals, complimenting efforts to secure the border and saying he was not in Washington to “bash” ICE or the administration. He also used the platform to call for a pathway to citizenship and to note that Fresno police will not arrest agents for wearing masks, characterizing that stance as aimed at avoiding further tensions under California law. Dyer's social media echoed his message that there is a need to “hold ICE accountable.”

Reactions at the meeting highlighted national tensions. Clovis mayor pro tem Diana Pearce publicly defended ICE and cautioned against blaming the agency for broader policy decisions. A commenter identified only as Bredefeld warned that opposing federal agents risks failing to remove “criminal, illegal aliens who have murdered innocent Americans.” Jim Hovland, mayor of Edina, framed the issue around community consent: “In order to gain that trust, we have to police neighborhoods with their permission… We cannot be seen as an occupying force when we go into these neighborhoods.” Oklahoma City mayor David Holt noted the White House had not invited mayors for a meeting while they were in town, and President Trump publicly criticized Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, calling him “PLAYING WITH FIRE.”

For Fresno residents, Dyer’s remarks underline that local officers will remain focused on city laws while the mayor pushes federal agencies toward clearer training, accountability and de-escalation. As co-chair of the Mayors and Police Chiefs Task Force, Dyer is positioned to bring Fresno perspectives to national conversations, and his comments signal potential follow-up at the conference and at home on how federal-local interactions are managed moving forward.