Fresno immigrant rights advocates have pushed back against Fresno County Supervisor Garry Bredefeld’s defense of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

The Fresno supervisor, along with other county supervisors and local leaders, denounced what he described as “growing attacks on ICE agents” at a Jan. 13 press conference held at the Fresno County Hall of Records. Bredefeld blamed activists and protesters for vilifying ICE agents.

Immigrant rights advocates said the supervisor’s comments were divisive and misinformed at a Friday press conference held outside the Fresno County Board of Supervisors office.

“The Board of Supervisors used its platform to make statements we don’t agree with,” said Lourdes Medina, a spokesperson of the Fresno-based Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN). “Supervisor Bredefeld, Supervisor (Nathan) Magsig and Supervisor (Buddy) Mendez — even if you’re not Latino or from the communities most affected — you still serve us. We’re asking you to be informed and to invite us into conversations you may lack knowledge of, especially when you’re making decisions about them.”

Medina, a constituent of Supervisor Garry Bredefeld, said she plans to visit his office personally to voice her concerns.

Bredefeld and other conservative officials spoke out in defense of ICE and President Trump’s deportation crackdown last week and said protesters and Democratic lawmakers were to blame for escalating tensions. The press conference was held days after an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis, which has spurred weeks of protests and demonstrations in the city.

“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,” Bredefeld said.

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.

Elvira de la Cruz, a home care provider for elderly and disabled adults and member of SIREN, also spoke about the impact of ICE enforcement on immigrant families during the press conference.

“It brings a lot of sadness that some ICE agents who are Hispanic do this to our Hispanic families,” she said. “We come to this country not to steal from anyone. We come to work and earn everything — or whatever little we have — by paying our taxes. We came to a country we believed was a land of freedom, and that freedom has been taken from us.”