Immigration raid nets multiple arrests in Merced County and Central Valley

Immigration and Customs Enforcement made 10 arrests this week in Merced County, officials confirmed.

ICE also made seven arrests in Madera and Fresno counties, according to a news release.

A total of 54 people were arrested in raids across seven counties, including Kings, Santa Cruz, Monterey and Tulare.

ICE officials alerted Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke prior to coming into the county, the sheriff said.

“They were in the area with specific targets for prior criminal activity,” Warnke said. “They checked in with me prior, per protocol.”

Four people were arrested in Atwater, three in Livingston, two in Merced and one in Ballico, according to the release.

Five were arrested in Madera, and two were arrested in Chowchilla.

ICE offials declined to name those who were arrested.

“This was not a big sweep,” Warnke said. “They’ve been doing this forever. Because of people’s disdain for the president, people think this is new. These folks would’ve been targeted regardless.”

Local immigration advocates were aware of at least one man who was arrested about 4 a.m. Tuesday, said Crissy Gallardo, a community organizer with the Merced Organizing Project and Faith in the Valley. The organization has a “rapid response team” in place and was notified.

Gallardo said advocates are working with the 48-year-old Julian Perez’s family to retain legal representation.

“His youngest daughter is 5 years old and a U.S. citizen,” Gallardo said. “It’s really sad to see the separation of families happening here in Merced.”

Livingston Police Lt. Chris Soria confirmed ICE agents sought targets in Livingston, the county’s only “sanctuary city.”

Soria said ICE notified dispatch at about 4:30 a.m. Friday that the agency was going to be operating at two locations in the city: Sauber Court, and Cabernet Court.

“They notified us ahead of time,” Soria said. “They didn’t request assistance. They’ve always done it that way. It’s protocol.”

Warnke said even though Livingston is a sanctuary city, that does not prohibit ICE from going into the town.

“That just means city personnel won’t work with ICE,” he said.

Livingston’s Mayor Pro Tem Gurpal Samra, who last month voted against the city’s sanctuary resolution, said the council’s action “didn’t work.”

“This thing gave people false hope,” he said. “I know there’s nothing Livingston can do. We’ve never shared information with ICE. I don’t want to break up families, but we’ve got to be real about it. I think we need to revisit it. I want to help people and help them straighten out their paperwork.”

Alex McCabe, a Livingston councilman who strongly pushed for sanctuary status, said the city’s policy wasn’t made to protect criminals. It was made to protect hard-working residents.

“In Livingston, we have a culture here where everyone is on the same playing field and the laws of the land apply to everyone,” McCabe said. “I don’t oppose ICE and enforcing criminal law. But if we find ICE is here to round up hard-working citizens, then I think it’s time for civil disobedience and to plug the system by throwing away our documents. I’ll be the first in line.”

Warnke said undocumented immigrants shouldn’t worry about being detained unless they have criminal histories. He also noted that ICE agents target criminals from all countries, not just those from Mexico.

“Being here illegally doesn’t put them on law enforcement radar,” Warnke said. “It’s when they do silly things and break the law that they get on our radar.”

This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Immigration raid nets multiple arrests in Merced County and Central Valley."