Fresno Council Candidate Fuentes Faces New Questions Over Claims He Undermined ICE Cases as Federal Prosecutor

District 1 City Council candidate Rob Fuentes told a crowd of union workers at an August 6 election forum that he lost at least some of his ICE-related cases because he didn’t work as hard on them, according to two attendees who witnessed the exchange.

The comments add a new dimension to scrutiny Fuentes has faced since late June over his track record as a federal prosecutor under the Trump administration. He was placed on administrative leave and then resigned in early July after defending his work on at least 124 immigration cases while simultaneously calling for ICE’s abolition on the campaign trail.

At the SEIU Local 2015 candidate forum, Fuentes raised the number of ICE cases he’d handled before asking the audience how many they thought he’d actually won, according to attendee Reza Nekumanesh. Fuentes then added that he “obviously wasn’t working very hard” on the cases, Nekumanesh recalled.

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When a union member asked whether Fuentes was saying he purposely lost cases — calling that “even worse” — Fuentes reportedly responded that he wouldn’t say that publicly but would say it to that audience, which consisted of no more than 25 people including five council candidates.

“As if it wasn’t a public gathering,” Nekumanesh said. “There’s no secrecy here.”

Ariana Martinez-Lott, a District 7 council candidate who also attended, similarly recalled the exchange in which Fuentes was asked about and did not deny losing cases deliberately.

Reached for comment Monday, Fuentes did not address the specific questions about his forum comments and did not deny making them. Instead, he issued a statement saying he approached immigration cases “in line with my ethical duties, a strong commitment to the rule of law, and a deep respect for individuals’ constitutional rights.”

Fuentes accused his opponent Naindeep Singh — who he’ll face in the November runoff after a June primary separated them by roughly 2 percentage points — of keeping the issue in the headlines to “distract from the real issues facing Fresno residents.”

Singh responded that Fuentes has a “character problem,” stating: “He hid his ICE work. He spun it. He played the victim. Now he claims he was sabotaging cases he took an oath and a paycheck to defend. Ask yourself, if true, that’s disqualifying and reveals he is untrustworthy. If false, he’s lying to survive the news cycle.”

The original controversy emerged in late June when Fuentes defended his work representing ICE in immigration cases while advocating for abolishing the agency on the campaign trail. Court records showed he had entered appearances in cases including one involving a Fresno father detained since September 2025 after a traffic stop — a case Fuentes denied having direct involvement in.

At the time, Fuentes said immigration cases made up a small percentage of his workload and that he felt he could engage in “harm reduction” through the cases he worked on before being “pushed out by the Trump administration.”

The Breakdown

• Fuentes worked as an assistant U.S. attorney under the Trump administration while running for Fresno City Council District 1, handling at least 124 immigration-related cases representing ICE.
• At an August 6 candidate forum with SEIU Local 2015, two witnesses say Fuentes told the audience he “obviously wasn’t working very hard” on his ICE cases and, when pressed, said he wouldn’t publicly admit to purposely losing cases but would tell that audience.
• Fuentes was placed on administrative leave and resigned in early July following initial scrutiny of his dual roles.
• Fuentes and Singh advanced from the June primary and will face each other in the November runoff election for District 1.

What This Means for You

This is a character-and-judgment question for District 1 voters deciding between Fuentes and Singh in November. The claims raise questions about what actually happened and what voters should make of competing explanations.

What You Can Do

The District 1 runoff election is in November. Both candidates are actively campaigning — attend candidate forums, review their campaign materials, and weigh this issue against the full range of positions each candidate holds on District 1 priorities.

What to Watch

The California Department of Justice and California Bar Association were contacted for comment on whether Fuentes’ alleged statements at the forum raise professional-conduct concerns.

Beyond the legal question, this raises questions about how District 1 voters weigh competing values: opposition to aggressive immigration enforcement versus expectations that public officials execute the duties of the office they hold, even when they disagree with the policy. Fuentes framed his continued work as “harm reduction” before resigning — the forum comments suggest he went further than that.