{"id":514400,"date":"2026-10-31T20:28:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T20:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/514400\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T20:28:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T20:28:22","slug":"ice-arrests-in-a-close-california-house-district-have-prompted-accusations-of-voter-intimidation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/514400\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE Arrests in a Close California House District Have Prompted Accusations of Voter Intimidation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\tREUTERS\/Carlos Barria\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tBy Jerome London<\/a>\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUpdated 6 minutes ago,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 31, 2026<\/p>\n

Some young US citizens in California\u2019s Central Valley<\/a> are afraid to vote because they worry it could expose relatives without legal status to immigration agents, local farmworker Maribel Ramirez says. The fear comes as arrests climb ahead of a closely contested House election in California\u2019s 22nd congressional district.<\/p>\n

\"ICENear Bakersfield\u2019s grape fields, farmworker Maribel Ramirez stands for a portrait in California\u2019s Central Valley on October 23, 2026, as ICE enforcement surges through the region. Photo by Carlos Barria \/ Reuters.<\/p>\n

Preliminary Department of Homeland Security data show Bakersfield\u2019s immigration arrests rose from about 1 a day for much of 2026 to nearly 10 a day in mid-October. In nearby Wasco, a town of 26,000, ICE arrested at least 7 people within a few days. The United Farm Workers union says hundreds of California farmworkers have been detained in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

The district, which includes Bakersfield, is 73% Latino. Polls have put Democrat Randy Villegas slightly ahead of Republican David Valadao, who\u2019s served 6 terms. Their race could help determine control of the House in Tuesday\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n

\"ICEDemocratic congressional candidate Randy Villegas fields questions from reporters at a Bakersfield hotel ahead of a campaign event on October 22, 2026. Photo by Carlos Barria \/ REUTERS.<\/p>\n

Villegas called the arrests a \u201cvery clear attempt to try and intimidate our communities before this election.\u201d He\u2019s also criticized Valadao for voting to triple ICE\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n

Valadao acknowledged \u201cthe fear and uncertainty immigration enforcement has created for families throughout our communities\u201d and urged the Trump administration to focus on people who threaten public safety. He\u2019s said ICE is targeting criminals, while also saying the agency has gone too far in some cases, without giving examples.<\/p>\n

An internal email announced the planned California surge to agents in early October. A US official, speaking anonymously because they weren\u2019t authorized to discuss it publicly, said the White House directed the operation. Small teams have moved between agricultural towns, rather than the large deployments seen in cities such as Chicago and Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

The official said some arrests at workers\u2019 homes or along their commutes stem from employee information obtained through audits of local businesses. Lawyers, advocates, videos and court records describe arrests near schools, outside homes, at intersections and in parking lots and gas stations.<\/p>\n

\"ICERandy Villegas, the Democratic candidate in California\u2019s 22nd congressional district, talks to reporters ahead of a campaign event at a Bakersfield hotel on October 22, 2026. Photo by Carlos Barria \/ Reuters.<\/p>\n

Ramirez says some eligible voters fear putting their immigrant parents at risk. She\u2019s urging US citizens to vote.<\/p>\n

For residents afraid to go out, some Bakersfield businesses offer to bring purchases to their door at no charge, says barber shop owner Ana Valencia. She says fewer people are out on the streets. Valencia voted early \u201cbecause I don\u2019t want ICE here, or anywhere really.\u201d<\/p>\n

UFW national Vice President Elizabeth Strater says most of the farmworkers detained recently have no criminal records, and some have authorization to work legally.<\/p>\n

One detained mother has a 3-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son. She\u2019s cared for them alone since their father\u2019s sudden death earlier this year. A relative says agents arrested her and her brother while they were unloading shopping on a day off from farmwork in Kern County.<\/p>\n

\"ICENear Bakersfield, California, a toddler whose mother was detained by federal immigration agents scatters feed for a chicken outside the family home, October 23, 2026. Photo by Carlos Barria \/ Reuters.<\/p>\n

Their lawyers\u2019 federal court petition says agents were searching for someone else and only established the siblings\u2019 identities after handcuffing them. It says neither has a criminal record. The mother came to the US as an unaccompanied minor more than a decade ago; her brother arrived as a toddler.<\/p>\n

The 3-year-old was at daycare when her mother was arrested. Her brother was away on a school camping trip.<\/p>\n

According to their relative, the boy cried for his mother when he returned and learned what had happened. His younger sister asks whether her mother\u2019s calling whenever the phone rings.<\/p>\n

Thank you for reading. Catch all of Thought Catalog\u2019s latest on Facebook<\/a> and our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"REUTERS\/Carlos Barria By Jerome London Updated 6 minutes ago, October 31, 2026 Some young US citizens in California\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-514400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}