What's at stake:
Advocates gathered in front of Robert E. Coyle Federal Building, joining Southern California and the Bay Area in demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s ongoing ICE deportations.
More than 300 people rallied midday Monday for an emergency protest in downtown Fresno, chanting “la Migra and Trump have to go.”
The protest was part of the ongoing immigration protests around the U.S. after a long weekend of rallies in Southern California and the Bay Area sparked another round of legal battles and political fighting between President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Haneen Tawila, a Palestinian and local activist, said it was important for her to join the protest in Fresno because, she said, immigration enforcement across the state is connected to other human rights violations happening nationwide.
“We are on stolen land and for ICE to be walking in and taking people away is unacceptable,” said Tawila. “If this continues, it will drive a bigger issue and division in our communities. We are not viewed as human, but as a working machine.”
Tensions sparked Friday during a string of immigration raids in Southern California that triggered protests and reports of violence, looting and vandalism. On Monday, Newsom’s office said at least 40 arrests had been made.
In response to the protests, President Trump sent 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the weekend, over the objections of Newsom, who called the move illegal and said his office planned to take the Trump administration to court.
Newsom accused the White House of overstepping its authority and said Trump was deliberately stoking tensions. “Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution,” Newsom said in a media statement.
The White House pushed back in a statement to Fresnoland.
“Keeping President Trump’s promise to deport illegal aliens is something the Administration takes seriously,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, adding, “We are committed to aggressively and efficiently removing illegal aliens from the United States, including illegal aliens who commit additional crimes once arriving illegally in the United States.”
‘We are targets’
Protesters gathering in Fresno on Monday said they wanted to stand against what they see as an out-of-control immigration policy that overwhelmingly targets nonthreatening, hardworking people and not the violent criminal gangs the president and others claim.
“A lot of our family, friends, and undocumented neighbors are targets—we are targets,” said Christina Gutierrez, the San Joaquin Valley regional environmental justice coordinator for Californians for Pesticide Reform. “My family depends on this type of movement.”
Gutierrez helped organize the protest with the May 1st Action Coalition, working alongside her husband, who coordinates the group.
The coalition focuses on taking specific actions against indiscriminate immigration enforcement affecting immigrant and broader communities.
Gutierrez said organizers began planning the protest on Saturday in response to reports of escalating tensions at demonstrations in Southern and Northern California, including multiple Waymo cars being set on fire in Los Angeles and the use of tear gas and flash-bangs on protesters. She and other organizers felt a strong call to action to mobilize this protest.
There were no reports of violence or criminal activity in connection with Monday’s protest in downtown Fresno.
As tensions between Sacramento and the White House mounted Monday, Fresno-area politicians began choosing sides.
In a statement to Fresnoland, Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni supported President Trump’s use of the National Guard, saying that the actions of protesters in Los Angeles were violent and jeopardized the safety of residents.
Zanoni also criticized Newsom for “wasting our tax dollars as he has on so many things,” referring to Newsom’s plan to sue the president. Zanoni also said that the current actions of ICE agents has been politicized, explaining that “this is simply a matter of public safety.”
“Several politicians, including Governor Newsom, have jeopardized that safety because of their stance to not deploy the National Guard and protect our people in California,” Zanoni said in an email statement, adding, “Governor Newsom has once again failed his duties.”
Fresno City Councilmembers Miguel Arias and Nelson Esparza attended Monday’s protest near Courthouse Park.
Esparza said he was at the protest to support First Amendment rights, stand in solidarity with immigrant and Latino communities, and speak out against the harsh federal actions taking place under the Trump administration.
“It’s up to us who are documented to show up and protest,” said Esparza. “Immigrants are our neighbors, coworkers, and friends.”
Fresno-area organizers urge peaceful protests
Monday’s protest in Fresno was organized by San Joaquin Valley Resistance (SJVR), The May 1st Action Coalition, Central Valley Community Action and Service Employees International Union, among others.
Daney Riojas, a volunteer with SJVR, said the organization helped organize the protest to remind people that they have rights regardless of their immigration status and to inform them on what to do if they encounter immigration enforcement.
Several organizers and community members shared encouraging messages about immigrants’ rightful place in our communities, offered resources for those affected, and called on documented individuals to take action.
This includes information on how documented individuals can volunteer for the Central Valley Watch Networks’ hotline, which tracks immigration enforcement sightings.
Advocates say the hotline is underresourced, noting that there have been times when calls went unanswered.
Members of the Service Employees International Union also spoke about how the organization’s president, David Huerta, was charged today by federal authorities in a criminal complaint alleging conspiracy to impede an officer during an immigration enforcement raid last week.
Huerta was detained and injured while documenting a workplace immigration raid in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.
In a statement to Fresnoland, public information officer Tony Botti of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, explained that while the sheriff’s office respects the right of Fresnans to protest peacefully, they are prepared to respond to any criminal activity taking place at any protest.
“Blocking public spaces, destroying property and violence, which is riotous behavior, will not be tolerated,” Botti said.
Botti also said that federal agents have the right to enforce the law, and said that the sheriff’s office supports and respects the assignments federal law enforcement officers conduct.
Monday’s protest was Fresno’s latest entry into the national debate over immigration policies and politics.
In May, the City of Fresno, which is not a sanctuary city, was once included on a list of 500 “sanctuary” jurisdictions released by the Department of Homeland Security, potentially facing funding cuts for not cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
The list has since been removed from the DHS website.
Speakers at Monday’s protest also urged community members to attend the upcoming “No Kings” nationwide protests, with two planned in Fresno. Two protests, one at Cary Park and another on the intersection of North Blackstone and East Nees Avenues, will take place on June 14 at the same time.
