Fresno Council Candidate Says ‘Abolish ICE’ Stance Compatible With Prosecuting ICE Cases

Rob Fuentes, running for Fresno City Council’s District 1 seat, says there’s no contradiction between his campaign call to abolish ICE and his day job arguing on behalf of that same agency in federal immigration cases.

Fuentes, 40, works as an assistant U.S. attorney in Fresno and has represented ICE in at least 124 detention cases under the Trump administration. He was hired in summer 2023 under the Biden administration and assigned primarily to civil rights and white-collar fraud cases.

In a recent interview, Fuentes said ICE cases are a small portion of his caseload and that he stays in the job because he can “achieve more good, including harm reduction” from the inside. Thousands of federal prosecutors have quit since the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown began, and hundreds more have been fired for being “out of step” with the administration.

“I would reject the premise that I’m taking the opposite position in my campaign life versus my professional life,” Fuentes said.

The candidate says when he believes someone is unlawfully detained, he tells the court directly. He noted that judges are ordering the release of people in many of the cases where detentions are found unlawful.

“I am very clear with the court where there is insufficient justification for holding an individual in immigration detention,” Fuentes said. “I am very forthright with the court, and I think I am helping the court reach what is the correct lawful and constitutional decision in each of these cases.”

Fuentes finished second in the June 2 primary — just 247 votes behind frontrunner Naindeep Singh out of more than 11,000 ballots cast. The two now face a runoff for the seat currently held by Councilmember Annalisa Perea, who endorsed Fuentes.

George Rios, a Fresno immigration attorney who confirmed Fuentes prosecuted a case involving a father of three U.S. citizen children detained since September 2025, questioned the disconnect between Fuentes’ campaign messaging and his courtroom work.

“You’re saying these are the ideals and policies that you are seeking to defend and put forward, but your actions say something completely different,” Rios said.

Fuentes maintained that both his policy views and his courtroom work are grounded in the law. He also pointed to his prior work representing unaccompanied minors without charge in private practice, his farmworker-family background, and his experience with California Rural Legal Assistance and the ACLU.

“I’ve dedicated my career to public service in Fresno, and I really do stand by my record,” Fuentes said. “I’m the only person in this race who has stood in court and prevented the deportation of immigrants.”

The Breakdown

• Rob Fuentes is running in a runoff for Fresno City Council District 1 after finishing 247 votes behind Naindeep Singh in the June primary
• Fuentes works as a federal prosecutor and has argued on behalf of ICE in at least 124 immigration detention cases under the current administration
• He says he supports abolishing ICE and that there’s no contradiction because he tells courts when detentions are unlawful
• An immigration attorney who faced Fuentes in court questioned whether his campaign positions match his professional actions
• Fuentes was hired in 2023 under the Biden administration and says ICE cases are a small part of his caseload focused mainly on civil rights and fraud

What This Means for You

District 1 voters will decide whether Fuentes’ explanation holds up — whether a prosecutor who represents ICE in court can credibly promise to champion policies limiting that same agency’s reach.

The city council doesn’t control ICE — that’s federal. But the council does shape how Fresno’s own police cooperate with immigration enforcement, a question where Fuentes says he supports California’s sanctuary-state protections. Your vote here tests whether you trust that a prosecutor who’s chosen to stay in a job defending ICE detentions, when thousands of colleagues quit, will actually stand firm on those limits when the next cooperation request comes through.

What You Can Do

The District 1 runoff between Rob Fuentes and Naindeep Singh will be on the November 2025 ballot. Registration deadlines and polling locations will be posted closer to the election.