Protesters, lining the streets surrounding the shopping center, carried\u00a0U.S.\u00a0and Mexican flags along with signs that read, \u201cJustice for Renee Nicole Good,\u201d \u201cAbolish ICE,\u201d and \u201cThe wrong ICE is melting.\u201d Demonstrators also referenced\u00a0U.S.\u00a0military strikes on\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0during a\u00a0Jan. 3\u00a0operation, and two people shot on\u00a0Jan. 8\u00a0by federal agents in\u00a0Portland, Ore.<\/p>\n
Elijah Andrade\u00a0and\u00a0Seran Arthur\u00a0attended the protest together, both dressed in all black and holding white and yellow chrysanthemums, which they said symbolized their grief and disappointment. They said it was important for them to protest against ICE and what they see as the unjust killing of Good.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really pains me that this is going on in our country and that this is happening to innocent people and that the government is just going with it and hasn\u2019t been hearing the voice of the people,\u201d Andrade said. \u201cWe all need to show our support for people vulnerable to ICE, so that they know that we\u2019re here for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur added that the protest was also personal for her, because she has family members, who are undocumented immigrants, and they could be directly affected by immigration enforcement across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have loved ones and family members who feel that they can\u2019t speak up, so I\u2019m here to speak out for them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Over the past year,\u00a0Fresno\u00a0has been home to a series of immigration-focused protests driven by heightened federal enforcement actions by\u00a0U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement\u00a0(ICE) and related agencies. Hundreds to thousands have taken to the streets in Fresno\u2019s downtown and neighborhoods to oppose deportations, denounce ICE raids in\u00a0California\u00a0cities, such as\u00a0Los Angeles, and to call for protections for undocumented residents. The protestors have often waved Mexican and American flags and chanted anti-enforcement slogans.<\/p>\n
Local activists and organizations have also organized rallies outside the Fresno ICE Processing Center downtown and have urged businesses to deny ICE entry, reflecting deep anxiety in immigrant communities amid reports of plainclothes federal agents detaining individuals outside courthouses and during routine ICE check-ins in the\u00a0Central Valley.<\/p>\n
Protestors also drew attention to broader concerns about democratic representation, accountability, and insufficient training of ICE agents.<\/p>\n
Mark Etheridge, a longtime\u00a0Fresno\u00a0resident, said it was important for him to attend the protest because he believes the country is moving toward authoritarianism and that the violence in\u00a0Minneapolis\u00a0is also occurring in\u00a0Fresno.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings have happened here. We\u2019ve had people at downtown immigration facilities who have been kidnapped when they go to their scheduled interviews while trying to go through the legal process. They\u2019re taken away by ICE agents,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s not a matter of if it happens here \u2014 it is happening here. People are afraid to go to work and to school. It\u2019s affecting\u00a0Fresno. It\u2019s not if or when.\u201d<\/p>\n