Viral Rumors of ICE Raids Fuel Fear in Fresno Immigrant Communities

Around 100 members of Fresno’s Southeast Asian community gathered in a banquet hall in late January after viral social-media posts and messaging-app alerts claimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement was carrying out raids in the Central Valley, organizers said. Stone Soup Fresno led a Know Your Rights workshop at the meeting as parents and community members sought practical information.

Local broadcasters and community groups say the social posts have circulated for months. ABC30 reported that “social media posts about ice raids over the last six months, have spread fear among many in the immigrant community,” and local advocate Thalia Arenas urged people to prepare: “Take all of these tools that are being deiminated and shared. Take them, learn them because you never know when you are going to need them.” Arenas added, “The unknow is even more scary so it's better to prepare yourself so when the times comes, it won't make your situation less, but it will put you and your family in a better place.”

Fresno Police Department and the Fresno and Madera County sheriff’s offices told reporters they could not confirm whether federal immigration officials had ramped up their presence in the Valley, though KQED noted that “they did all confirm they don’t cooperate directly with ICE.” Those statements have done little to ease community concern, organizers said, because ICE and Border Patrol agents are often hard to identify and sometimes wear plain clothes and face masks.

Gregorio Matiaz, immigration program manager with Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño, said community members keep returning for information. “It's causing more uncertainty and fear amongst the community,” Matiaz said, and “What I'm hearing is a lot of fear, a lot of precautions when going out.” May Gnia Her of Stone Soup Fresno organized the workshops to answer those questions and distribute practical materials to parents.

Local farm organizations and labor observers are watching for economic fallout. Ryan Jacobson, citing the Fresno County Farm Bureau and Nisei Farmers League, said, “There has been numerous reports over the course of the last three days of ICE activity up and down the valley but we have not seen anything that is reflective of that. No proof just a lot of suspicion and its a lot of confusion right now.” Jacobson added that while farms in Fresno have not yet seen a drop in workers, misinformation could reduce field attendance if fear spreads.

The fear is anchored in precedent: a Border Patrol operation in Kern County about a year ago led to 78 arrests and, according to local reporting, caused attendance at nearby schools and agricultural fields to plummet. National enforcement actions in cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis have also driven concern locally as Central Valley residents ask whether similar operations could arrive here.

Elsewhere, officials have tried to counter rumors with information sessions. In Schuyler, Nebraska, the police department issued a statement saying it was “not aware of any 'large scale deportations or raids' by ICE,” and University of Nebraska law professor Kevin Ruser warned that “There are myths that abound in the immigrant community” and urged people not to miss school out of fear: “You don't want to miss school for fear because of rumors... The dangers of rumors and false information out there to the public, it just perpetuates a negative outcome, and some of those negative outcomes, the consequences are so horrific that if you never come back.” With Fresno authorities unable to confirm an uptick in federal activity and community groups continuing workshops, local leaders say misinformation - not verified raids - is the immediate force shaping behavior in Fresno neighborhoods.