Fresno County supervisor defends ICE, Border Patrol as clashes rise in Minneapolis
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- Fresno supervisors denounce attacks on ICE and law enforcement, cite rhetoric.
- Officials call violence a threat to public safety and to the rule of law.
- Speakers urge elected leaders nationwide to publicly back law enforcement.
Fresno County Supervisor Garry Bredefeld and other conservative elected officials denounced what they described as escalating attacks on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, calling them a threat to public safety and the rule of law.
At a Tuesday press conference at the Fresno County Hall of Records, Bredefeld said recent attacks on ICE agents and law enforcement are the result of years of political rhetoric that has portrayed officers as enemies.
“I personally strongly condemn the growing attacks on ICE agents and the reckless political rhetoric coming from the radicals and extremist that villify federal law enforcement for simply doing their jobs as required by the law,” Bredefeld said. “ICE is not a danger or a threat to our communities. What is a threat is the increased lawlessness and violence that masquerades as protests.”
Joining Bredefeld in condemning supposed attacks on ICE were Fresno County Supervisors Nathan Magsig and Buddy Mendes, Clovis Mayor Pro Tem Diane Pearce and City Councilman Drew Bessinger.
The group of local officials spoke out in defense of ICE and the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown a week after an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis, spurring protests across the country. Tensions in Minneapolis have escalated since the incident, and clashes between civilians and ICE and Border Patrol have risen, sometimes involving aggressive tactics by federal agents, the New York Times reported.
Bredefeld attributed the current climate to border policies under the Biden administration, which he accused of dismantling of immigration enforcement, allowing millions of people to enter the country illegally with little vetting.
Bredefeld listed several victims he said were killed by undocumented immigrants, including Laken Riley, a nursing student; 12-year-old Jocelyn Dungaree; Rachel Morin, a mother of five; and Dakota Thompson, who he said was recently killed and thrown from a bridge. He criticized Democratic leaders and the media for what he described as a lack of outrage or sustained coverage following those deaths.
“Not one Democrat called for protests or deportations of illegal aliens after these heinous acts,” Bredefeld said. During the event, Bredefeld pointed to images displayed on monitors showing individuals arrested by ICE in Minnesota during recent operations.
Bredefeld said public frustration over border security and crime led to President Trump’s election, which he described as a “landslide.” He praised Trump for what he called the difficult but necessary task of restoring law and order by removing dangerous criminals and re-establishing immigration enforcement.
He also criticized Democratic governors and local leaders — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey — accusing them of defying federal law through sanctuary policies that he said have turned their cities into “magnets for crime, fraud, and chaos.”
