Fresno police won’t help Border Patrol or ICE agents with deportation raids, mayor says
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer says the city’s police will not assist with federal immigration enforcement operations and that he opposes any raids of local churches and schools.
“When it comes to immigration enforcement in sensitive places like schools or churches, I firmly believe those places should remain safe havens for our community,” Mayor Jerry Dyer said in a statement to The Bee on Friday. “We do not want members of our immigrant communities, especially our children, being afraid to attend school or a place of worship.”
Dyer’s comments come after a barrage of immigration-related actions during the Trump administration’s first days in power.
The president signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship and issued a directive that U.S. attorneys investigate local officials who refuse to enforce the president’s immigration policies. Trump also rescinded guidance that prevented U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents from making immigration-related arrests at schools, churches and other sensitive locations.
Since the Border Patrol enforcement operation in Kern County earlier this month, unverified and sometimes falsified information has fueled arrest and deportation fears among the Central Valley’s immigrant communities.
Local organizers have urged undocumented immigrants to know their rights afforded by the U.S. Constitution if they are contacted by immigration agents. The Consulate of Mexico in Fresno has also advised immigrants who are detained or arrested to exercise their right to have their respective consulates immediately notified of the arrest.
Dyer said he remains committed to ensuring “a safe and welcoming place for everyone who calls this city home.”
“My primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of everyone, regardless of their immigration status,” he said.
Dyer served as Fresno’s police chief when Trump was elected to his first term in 2016. He told The Bee then that “officers are not interested in a person’s immigration status, but only whether they are involved in criminal activity.”
That policy still stands, Dyer said Friday.
“The Fresno Police Department will not inquire about a person’s immigration status, nor will officers assist federal officials in immigration sweeps or enforcement activity,” Dyer told The Bee. “Our officers will continue to focus on criminal activity and not on whether a person is undocumented.”
“We have worked hard to earn the trust of our immigrant community and to ensure that they feel comfortable reaching out to law enforcement when they need help or to provide information to officers,” Dyer said. “If federal mandates require local law enforcement to participate in immigration enforcement, I want to be very clear: Fresno will not sacrifice the trust we’ve worked so hard to build with our community.”
This story was originally published January 25, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
