Fresno council candidate quits U.S. prosecutor job over ICE criticism; blames Trump
Facing criticism over his role as a federal prosecutor in immigration cases, Fresno City Council candidate Robert Fuentes has resigned as an assistant U.S. attorney, he told The Fresno Bee on Monday.
Fuentes, a candidate for Fresno City Council and State Center Community College District trustee, said he was placed on administrative leave June 26 — one day after he made comments about federal immigration in an interview with digital news publication Fresnoland.
“I was pushed out by the Trump administration after I criticized ICE publicly,” he said.
Results from the June 2 primary election showed only 254 votes separated Fuentes from the top vote-earner, Naindeep Singh, a Central Unified school board trustee and leader of the Jakara Movement.
Certified results showed Singh’s lead at 39% to 37% for the District 1 seat. Because neither achieved a majority in the four-person primary, the two will face off in the Nov. 3 general election to represent the district, an area that includes west-central Fresno.
Fuentes and Singh are running to succeed Annalisa Perea, who is running for state Assembly. She endorsed Fuentes, a one-term SCCCD trustee first elected in 2022.
A Department of Justice spokesperson had no comment on Fuentes’ leave or resignation, citing a policy of not commenting on personnel matters.
Fuentes: ICE comments led to anticipated firing
Fuentes said he turned in his letter of resignation to U.S. Attorney Eric Grant on July 3. It was accepted.
Quoted in Fresnoland with a desire to “abolish ICE,” Fuentes was placed on leave one day later, he told The Bee. Fuentes said Monday he anticipated eventually being fired, so he resigned to “make it easier.”
“It’s very clear to me, both as a private citizen and as an attorney, that ICE has used unlawful tactics in numerous instances, and I’ve expressed that criticism internally, and I’ve expressed it publicly, and it was the public expression of my viewpoint that led to me being pushed out,” Fuentes said.
Speaking to The Bee on Monday, Fuentes did not call for ICE’s abolition, but said the agency “needs to be significantly reformed.”
“In its current form, it’s just not operating as a lawful institution,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes said he stayed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office after the Trump Administration returned to power in January 2025, because he believed he could still have a positive impact from within.
The California State Bar admitted Fuentes in 2016. In his 10 years practicing law, Fuentes worked in private practice, and as an attorney for the federal court before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2023 as a prosecutor.
A Central Valley native, Fuentes graduated from Stanford, earned a master’s degree at Harvard, and his juris doctor from Yale. He also teaches classes at San Joaquin College of Law.
Fuentes worked on immigration detention cases
Fuentes called allegations that he worked to deport immigrants “a flat-out lie.”
The record shows that Fuentes worked on habeas corpus cases — when a motion is filed to challenge the right of the government to detain a suspect. While immigration cases have their own legal system, habeas corpus cases are filed with the federal district court. He did not work directly on deportation cases.
Fuentes said that he and other attorneys were assigned to defend habeas corpus cases in May, as the caseload piled up. Normally, he worked on filing civil enforcement cases for civil rights violations, fraud and wildfires.
“I have been extremely committed to the rule of law and to following the Constitution and to ensuring that every individual’s rights have been respected,” Fuentes said. He said in most cases, the judge ordered the detainee to be released as the immigration case played out.
Fuentes criticizes Singh
Fuentes believes a Singh supporter pitched the allegation to media outlets that he worked to deport immigrants. He would not name names. In a Facebook post and video, he called it “dirty politics.”
“It’s clear that one of my opponent’s supporters had been keeping an eye on the cases I’d been handling, and as soon as he got wind of these cases, he said, ‘Oh, great, we got him,’” Fuentes said.
Fuentes said fending off the allegations of deporting immigrants is “a big distraction, which I believe was their aim.”
He said work on immigration issues between him and Singh is, “night and day.”
Fuentes referred to his work in private practice, defending immigrants from deportation.
“My opponent’s work, so to speak, in this field is limited to the virtue signaling. Whereas my work has been focused on actual, concrete actions that have made improvements in the lives of immigrants,” Fuentes said. He also called Singh’s work “performative because it hasn’t achieved any tangible result.”
Singh leads The Jakara Movement, which describes itself as “a grassroots community-building organization working to empower, educate, and organize working-class Punjabi Sikhs, and other marginalized communities.”
He responded to Fuentes’ comments, saying he “welcome scrutiny of our records.”
“I’ve spent years fighting for our residents, including standing up to Trump policies that harmed our immigrant communities. I don’t expect Mr. Fuentes to know of our track record as he only very recently moved into the district. However, we have been at the forefront of defending immigrant rights to work and fighting wage theft,” Singh said.
Fuentes said he moved into the district last year, after living in District 3. He also accuses Singh of just recently moving into District 1.
Singh also referenced a comment from immigration attorney George Rios — who filed a habeas corpus case against the federal government. Rios called out Fuentes for not being transparent about his work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“It’s concerning when your message ... saying he supports abolishing ICE, but at the same time he’s not only entering his appearance to represent ICE in cases involving illegal detention, but he actually filed arguments defending those illegal detention practices,” Rios told The Bee.
Singh said “the same standard should apply to everyone ... the public deserves to see the full record.”
If elected, Fuentes wants to establish a legal defense fund for immigrants but would not make it a priority over affordability, public safety and neighborhood revitalization, he said.
Fuentes said he plans to spend the next four months on his campaign, working as a SCCCD trustee, and teaching.
Group calls for Fuentes’ resignation
A group called Fresno Resistance, led by activist Roman Rain Tree, is calling for Fuentes to resign as SCCCD trustee.
“For many in Fresno, particularly families directly impacted by immigration enforcement, these revelations have raised profound questions about transparency, accountability, and whether his professional responsibilities are consistent with the values expected of the President of a community college district that serves thousands of immigrant and mixed-status students,” the group said in a news release. “Rob Fuentes has failed on all these fronts by concealing his specific work with ICE.”
The group claimed Fuentes was “detaining and deporting Fresno families.”
Fuentes said he will not resign.
“There are a lot of folks who are misinformed and are being led down a path that’s being pushed by folks within my opponent’s camp, and so no, I do not give a lot of legitimacy to what they’re saying or pushing for,” Fuentes said.
Dillon Savory, executive director of the regional Labor Council, defended Fuentes. His group endorsed him for the city council race.
“We have now the cancel culture that’s particularly coming out of the left, or maybe a couple small groups that are actually trying to make something negative out of something that’s not," Savory said. “They’re trying to really make people into bad people that are not bad people.”
This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 3:14 PM.
