What’s at stake:
As ICE enforcement surges across the Central Valley, immigrants attending permanent residency appointments are being detained at Fresno’s USCIS office.
Alejandro Suarez drove from Bakersfield to Fresno on Oct. 7 for what he believed was a routine U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) appointment regarding his permanent residency. He has lived in the U.S. since he was 11 and kept all his immigration paperwork current, including an approved I-130 petition.
Suarez said in a phone interview with Fresnoland that he trusted the process and followed his attorney’s guidance, who assured him that nothing would go wrong. Instead, following the appointment, immigration officers detained Suarez, escorted him out through a back entrance, and later transferred him to the Golden State Annex detention center.
“I was doing everything correctly, trying my best,” Suarez said. “I’ve been a good man, I grew up in this country, and I established my family here. I thought I was doing the correct things. It’s like a nightmare, we have always been together.”
Alejandro and his wife, Elida Herrera, have five children, including a newborn daughter and a son with autism. Herrera is still recovering from a C-section, and the family is struggling to manage daily life without him.
Inside detention, Suarez described harsh conditions, from poor food to uncomfortable bedding, and said interactions with staff are demoralizing. Suarez and Herrera said they hope that sharing his story will raise awareness about what he calls the administration’s relentless approach to immigration enforcement.
“Even when you’re doing everything right, they treat you like a number,” Suarez said. “I just want people to know what’s happening. I still don’t believe that I’m in this place. I haven’t talked to the securities right here inside. It’s hard because they are saying only negative things about being free.”
The escalation of detentions in the Fresno area U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in California’s Central Valley have risen by 58% in the first seven months of President Donald Trump’s administration compared to the same time period last year, first reported by The Fresno Bee.
In June, two undocumented immigrants attending routine check-ins for ongoing immigration cases were quickly taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, in an ICE-led enforcement action outside the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) office in Fresno, a practice documented in several states.
Maria Caballero, a longtime Firebaugh resident with no criminal record, was detained by ICE on Oct. 8 while attending a scheduled USCIS appointment in Fresno to adjust her status. On Oct. 17, Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria (D–Fresno) and other state and local leaders gathered in downtown Fresno in support of her. A petition calling for Caballero’s release, now closed, gathered 7,619 signatures. She is currently being held in the detention facility in California City, which opened in August.
At the same time, an uptick of detentions are happening across the U.S. such as in Chicago and Portland, after Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to several U.S. cities.
In California, CBP agents arrived on Thursday at Coast Guard Island in Alameda to support federal immigration operations. Social media rumors of a large-scale deployment circulated widely, the San Francisco Chronicle first reported, citing an unnamed source of the operation, that about 100 federal agents had been sent to the base.
Trump announced Thursday that he is scaling back a planned deployment of federal agents to San Francisco after speaking with leading Bay Area tech CEOs and the city’s mayor, as protesters gathered outside a U.S. Coast Guard base.
ICE officials did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.
What’s happening at immigration offices in Fresno?
Herrera told Fresnoland that she accompanied her husband to the office and waited inside the building after officers asked to speak with him privately.
She said she waited 23 minutes, assuming her husband had simply stopped in the hallway for hand sanitizer and would return at any moment. Instead, she learned he had been detained. The detention came just 13 days after she gave birth.
Herrera said their attorney initially promised to fight the case but later requested more money, despite already receiving $11,000 for representation.
“The situation is really difficult,” Herrera said. “My husband has nothing on his record. He is a good husband, father, son, and brother. These immigration workers don’t understand the pain of the children, more than anything else.”
She said her children have been constantly asking when their father will come home and often cry in his absence.
“There are people who don’t want to listen or be aware of the situation,” Herrera said. “They say, ‘Oh, there’s nothing happening, don’t worry.’ But this is happening, and everyone needs to be extremely careful about their in-person appointments.”
Armida Mendoza, a Fresno-based immigration attorney, said she witnessed several people detained during the first two weeks in October, who went into their appointments regarding their permanent residence status.
Mendoza said one of her clients was detained even though he had no arrests. The interviewing officer, she said, seemed to target the case because the client had been married for less than a year, despite having strong evidence of a legitimate marriage.
While waiting in the lobby, Mendoza said several families told her their relatives had also been detained during interviews the previous day. Many were long-term residents married to U.S. citizens or military veterans, with no criminal records.
“Everyone waiting in the lobby that day said their family members had been detained, people with attorneys, people without attorneys, all of them,” said Mendoza. “It wasn’t targeted anymore. It was everyone.”
Mendoza said families were told their relatives were being held at a nearby ICE facility, where some had been detained for more than 24 hours, even though the site is not equipped for long-term holding. She later alerted her colleagues with Faith in the Valley’s rapid response network, who confirmed similar detentions elsewhere.
“They’re detaining people who are following the legal process, people doing everything right,” Mendoza said. “The reasons ICE gave were things like overstaying a visa or entering without status, but those are exactly the situations the law allows to be forgiven when applying for permanent residence through a U.S. citizen spouse. It’s outrageous.”
Nora Zaragoza-Yáñez, Faith in the Valley’s watch network program manager, said federal immigration agents have begun detaining people during USCIS appointments, interrupting interviews and bypassing attorneys. She called it “a very in your face, total disregard for due process.”
Zaragoza-Yáñez said many of those most at risk are immigrants seeking to adjust their status through family-based petitions. The crackdown, she added, has also coincided with a rise in notary fraud — unlicensed individuals who exploit vulnerable immigrants by offering false legal services.
“People are desperate for protection,” Zaragoza-Yáñez said. “Notarios prey on community members’ vulnerability, promising to file petitions or screen eligibility even though they have no legal authority to do so. Then, when something goes wrong, they wash their hands of any accountability.”
Across California, Zaragoza-Yáñez said, it’s common to see signs offering tax preparation, notary, and immigration help together, even though state law prohibits notaries from performing legal document preparation or immigration services. She said these businesses exploit community trust, especially during tax season, when clients who rely on them for tax help also turn to them for immigration support.
Zaragoza-Yáñez noted that even some private attorneys are contributing to the problem by taking on cases without conducting full risk assessments or informing clients about the potential consequences of applying.
She also pointed to another troubling trend: immigrants with pending or approved U visas, which intend to protect survivors of crime, are being detained and deported despite their legal protections.
“Under a U visa, these individuals have deferred action where they’re not a priority for deportation,” Zaragoza-Yáñez said. “But this current administration doesn’t seem to care and people are being taken anyway — going in through the front door for their appointments and being taken out forcefully through the back door of the USCIS building. They’re shameless.”
Should those summoned for an immigration related appointment still attend?
Some attorneys recommend rescheduling appointments or asking to attend them virtually to minimize risk, while others advise clients to keep their appointments but to have a family preparedness plan in place in case they’re detained.
Zaragoza-Yáñez said it’s critical for community members to attend all scheduled appointments, whether it’s a USCIS meeting, an ICE check-in, or a court hearing, because missing one can have severe consequences.
In immigration court, failing to appear allows a judge to issue a deportation order in absentia; in county court, it can lead to a bench warrant.
She said her team urges people to show up despite growing fears about safety, even though there are no guarantees that someone won’t be detained. When families request accompaniment, legal observers attend to document the process in case due process is violated.
“It’s a harsh reality,” Zaragoza-Yáñez said, “But we want people to be as prepared as possible in a system that no longer rewards simply following the rules.”
Zaragoza-Yáñez explained that when a loved one’s detention is reported, rapid response staff gather key details and forward the case to the legal rapid response team of attorneys and accredited representatives. That team works to ensure the detained person receives a consultation before being transferred to a detention center, helping them understand their rights and avoid signing documents under pressure.
Organizers then follow up with families across eight Central Valley counties to connect them with emotional and social support.
Zaragoza-Yáñez added that the organization also encourages annual immigration consultations so people can stay informed about possible remedies or protections, to be honest about their immigration history, and to contact the hotline if anyone needs support.
Mendoza, the attorney, is urging community members to seek legal help before attending immigration interviews or filing applications on their own. She said many people who apply without an attorney or rely on notaries, may not realize the risks involved.
She recommends that anyone pursuing an immigration benefit to contact a licensed attorney or nonprofit legal organization to have their case reviewed, understand their options, and learn about potential risks if detained. Mendoza also stressed that applicants should never sign documents they don’t fully understand, especially if they are not in their language.
She added that people have the right to see a judge and fight their case, even if detained, noting that many recent detainees had no criminal record and met the requirements for permanent residence.
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