‘Hold ICE accountable.’ Fresno mayor says immigration agency has lost public’s trust
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer is calling for more accountability and training for U.S. immigration enforcement agents.
He joined several mayors from across the country during a press conference Wednesday at the United States Conference of Mayors in Washington D.C. to call for pause to rethink the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement, which is under fire for the recent killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Dyer said he supports the administration’s efforts to secure the border, as well as immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship and immigration enforcement. But U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are using policing tactics long abandoned by local law enforcement, and need more training on de-escalation tactics, he said.
“What we’re asking ICE to do, and what we’re asking the president to do, is to hold ICE accountable, to make sure that they’re getting the training that they need to go out and do their job effectively to become a welcomed presence in neighborhoods. Quite frankly, I think that ship has sailed right now,” Dyer said.
Dyer said that the intention is not to bash the administration or ICE. But, he said, mayor’s voices need to be heard as part of the federal government’s approach to immigration.
“We need to take a breath in America and maybe cause ICE to pull back, regroup, retrain, and then maybe approach us (cities) from a different stance,” Dyer said.
Several mayors, from cities such as Oklahoma City, San Diego and Lincoln, Nebraska, acknowledged the “uniquely challenging time” of the country’s democracy and reaffirmed their commitment to bipartisan collaboration.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Major Cities Chiefs Association recently issued a joint statement urging federal law enforcement leaders “to insist upon calm, professionalism, and de-escalation from their officers at all times.”
Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, from the Minnesota suburb city of Burnsville, noted how crime is down in cities nationwide.
“However, with the introduction of ICE, our cities are no longer safe,” she said.
Kautz said all mayors want violent criminals removed from their streets, regardless of where they were born. And she highlighted that previous administrations have had successful deportations and “removals” through the “proper channels” and with due process rooted in the constitution.
“However, in Minnesota, that is not our experience,” she said.
ICE tactics erode trust, Dyer says
Dyer drew upon his experience as the city’s longtime police chief to reflect on current ICE enforcement tactics.
“What we’re seeing in America today from primarily ICE is that they’re being rejected, they’re being rejected by communities. Why? Because of the policing tactics that are being utilized that have been abandoned by local law enforcement 30 years ago.”
Dyer said that during his 40 years in the Fresno Police Department, the last 18 as police chief, one of the most fundamental things he learned as police chief is that you have to earn the trust of the people in which you serve.
“And in order for us to gain that that trust, we have to police neighborhoods with their permission. We cannot be seen as an occupying force when we go into those neighborhoods,” he said.
Dyer stressed the need for ICE agents to be trained on de-escalation techniques.
“What we’re seeing, often times, with the operations of ICE are that situations are escalating,” he said.
He supported the Trump administration’s decision to start pulling some ICE agents out of Minneapolis, which he described a “tactical retreat.”
On Monday, reports emerged that Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino — the public face of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown — was heading back to his post in El Centro, along the U.S.-Mexico border, and to be replaced by Border Czar Tom Homan.
“Sometimes just the mere presence of law enforcement can escalate a situation, and that’s what we’re seeing,” Dyer said.
A UC Berkeley law professor also told The Bee in a March 2025 interview that immigration enforcement through large scale raids fell out of favor politically in the 1990s and early 2000s after several lawsuits related to racial profiling of Latino residents as well as several deaths during enforcement operations.
Refuses to arrest ICE officers, reiterates ICE authority
Dyer said some Fresno community members are “demanding” Fresno police arrest ICE agents wearing masks under the new California state law banning law enforcement agents from hiding their identities including by using masks.
”Well, we’re not going to do that. I’m not going to do that. I can’t do that because that’s only going to increase the tensions that we have out there,” he said.
He reiterated comments he made during his Jan. 19 Martin Luther King Day speech in Fresno that ICE agents have police powers to arrest and detain people as federal law enforcement, as well as to respond with deadly force in certain circumstances. He again stressed that people need to follow directions of law enforcement to avoid unnecessary incidents and tragedies — comments which have come under fire by Fresno faith leaders and activists.
Dyer stressed that Fresno as a city does not participate in any type of immigration enforcement or raids, which is illegal under state law.
“That’s not our job. We enforce local laws,” he said.
This story was originally published January 28, 2026 at 1:08 PM.
