By Pamela Cruz | Peninsula 360 Press
A week ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, immigration raids by have been reported in California’s Central Valley. The raids, a preview of the mass deportations that were a hallmark of Trump’s presidential campaign, have sent a chill across communities in the region.
Mari Pérez-Ruíz, executive director of the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance based in Tulare County, an agricultural region located south of Fresno, says the raids came as a complete surprise both for her and for the families she works with.
“We were all taken by surprise, to be honest,” said Pérez-Ruíz in an interview with Peninsula 360 Press and EMS. “We thought that perhaps the raids would start after January 20 (Inauguration Day), but we are still in this (Biden) administration, and they are already happening.”
Since the January 7 raids, which reportedly targeted a local Home Depot as well as several small businesses, her organization has been actively working to secure information on the individuals detained and where they are being held.
Reports suggest that six individuals from the region’s sizable indigenous Oaxacan community were arrested by authorities in the city of Terra Bella, in Tulare County and are being processed for deportation.
“No, I have not yet been able to communicate with those detained,” said Pérez-Ruíz, “but there are six members of one family who were detained at a gas station,” she explained.
Other raids were reported near Bakersfield in neighboring Kern County on the morning of January 7. Initial reports suggested the raids were conducted by officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), though it now appears they were part of an operation carried out by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) which issued the following statement: “The U.S. Border Patrol conducts targeted enforcement arrests of individuals involved in smuggling throughout our areas of operation as part of our efforts to dismantle transnational criminal organizations.”
Tulare is home to a large population of migrant farmworkers, many of them originally from Indigenous communities in Mexico where Spanish is not widely spoken. There is also a large concentration of Filipino farmworkers that Pérez-Ruíz says are often unrepresented in advocacy and organizing efforts.
While estimates suggest that nearly 75% of California farmworkers are undocumented, many are also in the country under H-2A visas which allow for the hiring of seasonal agricultural labor, a workforce some say could alleviate the anticipated shortage of workers resulting from continued deportations.
But, according to Pérez-Ruíz, many H-2A workers have been abused by employers in the past. She cited as an example dozens of workers who, during the pandemic, were denied their pay and forced to return to their home countries after being housed in unsafe conditions in Tulare County.
The Central Valley Empowerment Alliance, meanwhile, has compiled a list of lawyers who have offered to provide legal services to those who need it, she said, adding that federal immigration law allows for the warrantless detention of individuals within 100 miles of any US boundary, either land or sea.
Civil rights advocates say the law, based on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1946, violates individuals’ right to due process and equal protection.
Reporting by CALÓ News notes ICE spokesperson Alethea Smock denied ICE involvement in the raids. When pressed about the presence of Border Patrol agents in the area, which is beyond the 100-mile zone defined under immigration law, Smock suggested putting the question directly to Border Patrol.
Both ICE and CBP are under the Department of Homeland Security. “CBP enforces customs and immigration law at and near the border and ICE enforces customs and immigration laws at the border as well as in the interior of the United States,” according to the DHS website.
“This is just the beginning,” stressed Pérez-Ruíz, who described an eerie silence in what would otherwise be a bustling day in her community, with roads clear and families choosing to remain indoors for fear of detention.
She noted that the sheriff of Tulare County, Mike Boudreaux, has expressed support on social media for the far-right militia group, the Oath Keepers, known for its militant anti-immigrant positions, as well as elected officials in the region who are closely aligned with Trump. The president-elect made numerous fund-raising visits to the Central Valley during his campaign.
“We’re going to hear more of this… and we are preparing for it,” said Pérez-Ruíz.
