ICE Enforcement Surge Detains Over 100 in Central Valley, Disrupts Fresno-Area Harvest
Federal immigration enforcement operations detained more than 100 farmworkers and other residents across California’s Central Valley since October 12, 2026, according to community organizations tracking the arrests. The operations — which farm owners in Fresno, Madera, and Merced counties confirmed disrupted harvests for figs, melons, and other crops — are part of what advocates described as a sharp increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity statewide in the weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
“We are certainly seeing a dramatic uptick in activity over the last week or so,” Heather Riden, program director at the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, stated October 18. “The level of stress in many of our agricultural communities is really high.”
Kevin Herman, owner of Madera-based The Specialty Crop Co., reported that the operations caused about half of the roughly 100 workers hired to harvest figs in his orchards to miss work for more than a week. “It’s a little bit of a challenge when you have a sales order for five pallets of fruit and you only pick two or three,” Herman stated. He grows figs and other fruit in Fresno, Madera, and Merced counties.
Joe Del Bosque, owner of Firebaugh-based Del Bosque Farms in Fresno County, stated that a “handful” of workers did not report for work harvesting cantaloupe after immigration agents were seen in the area. “It slowed down our crew,” Del Bosque stated. “You need everyone to fulfill their part.”
Del Bosque stated melon harvest — which concluded last week — requires about 20 people trained to perform different jobs, including driving a tractor, identifying ripe melons, picking them, packing them into boxes, and stacking boxes with a forklift. “These are skilled positions,” he stated. “If they don’t show up today, you can’t just go out and look for somebody on the street to replace them.”
Joe Garcia, president of the California Farmworker Foundation and owner of Delano-based Jaguar Farm Labor Contracting Inc., which employs about 3,000 people in the Central Valley and Central Coast, reported spending last week investigating possible sightings of immigration agents. While he was not aware of federal agents entering any farm properties, Garcia stated that arrests made at supermarkets and roadsides — and a steady stream of unverified sightings posted online — sent “ripple effects” through the valley, with worker turnout in some of his crews plummeting.
Giselle Garcia, program director at Sacramento-based NorCal Resist, stated October 18 that since the prior week her organization met or spoke directly with nearly 20 newly detained people or their family members. “That is a huge increase,” she stated. She added that higher funding and staffing levels for ICE had appeared to increase the agency’s ability “to do multiple operations at a time.”
Last year, Congress roughly tripled funding for interior immigration enforcement and detention facilities.
In July 2026 — the most recent month with data available — ICE arrests hit record highs both nationally and in California, due largely to the agency detaining more immigrants without criminal convictions, according to federal data analyzed by the Deportation Data Project, which is based at the University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA. That month, 41,786 people nationwide were arrested and booked into immigration detention. About 74% of those detained did not have a criminal record — also a record high — while around 25% had been convicted of a nonviolent crime and less than 2% had a conviction for a violent crime.
A Washington Examiner report, citing two unnamed sources, stated that ICE had launched a 45-day operation across California to arrest all immigrants without legal status, calling it “Operation Safe California.” Herman, the fig grower, stated he was concerned by news reports describing plans by DHS to conduct 45 days of ICE raids in California leading up to next month’s midterm elections. About a tenth of his fig crop is waiting to be picked, and citrus harvest is set to begin this week. “That could be problematic for us if this continues on for another month,” Herman stated.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to confirm or deny the reported operation. “For operational security and the safety of our officers, ICE will not disclose or discuss law enforcement operations,” a DHS spokesperson stated. “Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country including in California.”
State Sen. Anna Caballero, who represents parts of Fresno and Merced, stated through a spokesperson that she had heard of an estimated 60 arrests the week before last within the communities she represents. “The facility in downtown Fresno is having trouble processing” this amount of detainees, Caballero’s spokesperson Elisa Rivera wrote. “Legal observers are having little success gaining access.”
Berkeley Rep. Lateefah Simon stated in an emailed statement: “We know what Republicans are trying to do — intimidate Latino citizens so they stay at home and don’t exercise their right to vote.” Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a statement released solely in Spanish on October 9, acknowledged an increase in reports of federal immigration enforcement in California, adding that “Donald Trump uses fear as a weapon — putting families in danger, weakening trust and terrifying communities.”
The state grows more than a third of the nation’s vegetables and about three-quarters of its fruits and nuts, with much of that production in the Central Valley. The sector relies on hundreds of thousands of farmworkers, more than half of whom are estimated to be undocumented.
The Breakdown
- More than 100 people were detained in ICE operations across the Central Valley since October 12, 2026, according to community organizations tracking the arrests.
- Farm owners in Fresno, Madera, and Merced counties reported that the operations caused workers to stay home, disrupting harvests. Kevin Herman reported about half of roughly 100 workers hired to harvest figs missed work for more than a week; Joe Del Bosque reported a “handful” of workers did not show up for cantaloupe harvest.
- The operations follow a July 2026 record high in ICE arrests nationally and in California — 41,786 people arrested nationwide that month, with about 74% having no criminal record.
- A Washington Examiner report, citing unnamed sources, described a 45-day operation called “Operation Safe California.” DHS declined to confirm or deny the reported operation.
- California lawmakers approved SB 884 earlier this year, prohibiting law enforcement — including federal agents — from making arrests within 200 feet of a polling place on Election Day, except for crimes related to disrupting the polling place, crimes against a person, or crimes against property. The restriction applies only on November 3, not during early voting.
What This Means for You
If you are eligible to vote, you can mail your ballot by November 3 or place it in an official county drop box — you do not have to go to a polling place in person. If you do vote in person, SB 884 prohibits ICE or any other law enforcement from making arrests within 200 feet of the polling place on Election Day unless the arrest is for a crime related to disrupting the polling place, a crime against a person, or a crime against property. That restriction does not apply during early voting.
What You Can Do
If you are eligible to vote, mail your ballot by November 3 or place it in an official county drop box.
If you witness what you believe is voter intimidation at a polling place or drop box, report it to California’s Secretary of State hotline, available in multiple languages. Angélica Salceda with the ACLU of Northern California stated: “We all have a right to be able to cast our ballot free from coercion or intimidation.”
The Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership is sharing an “Emergency Planning Checklist for Families” to help immigrants prepare in case a family member is arrested. Contact NorCal Resist or a local rapid response network for information on your rights if you or a family member is detained.
What to Watch
DHS refused to answer questions about the objectives or timeframe of the reported enforcement surge. The agency’s own statement — “for operational security” — is the kind of refusal to provide a record or timeline that makes it impossible to know what the operation actually is, how long it will last, or who is targeted. A ProPublica investigation found that immigration enforcement agents detained more than 500 U.S. citizens during the second Trump administration.
Rep. Lateefah Simon alleged that Republicans are trying to intimidate Latino citizens so they stay home on November 3. The farmworkers detained, the farm owners who cannot fulfill orders, and the Fresno County facility that Sen. Caballero’s office stated is “having trouble processing” the volume of detainees are all affected by the surge. The sources do not state how much taxpayer money is funding this operation or how much the tripled ICE budget passed by Congress last year is costing — those figures would show the public cost of the surge.
The Washington Examiner report relied on two unnamed sources and did not provide a record, document, or on-the-record official to back up the “Operation Safe California” name or the 45-day timeline. DHS declined to confirm or deny it. If the operation is real and authorized, why won’t DHS confirm it? If it is not real, why are farm owners, community organizations, and a state senator all reporting the same pattern of arrests and disruptions across the same region during the same two-week period? What evidence would settle this: the operation order itself, the budget line funding it, or an on-the-record statement from DHS leadership explaining the policy purpose and timeline.
