Hanford residents rally against ICE violence, urge Rep. Valadao to oppose tactics
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- Residents rallied in Hanford demanding Valadao oppose alleged ICE violence and abuses.
- Valadao voted yes on the homeland security budget to support for DHS actions.
- Kings County activists staged bridge demonstrations to raise local visibility.
Constituents in U.S. Rep. David Valadao’s district are urging the Republican to oppose ICE tactics, particularly in Minnesota where agents have killed two U.S. citizens during protests this month.
“This has to stop. We’re losing our Constitution; we’re losing our rights,” said Cathleen Jorgensen, chair of the Democratic Central committee in Kings County.
Valadao was among the California republicans who voted yes on the homeland security budget that passed the House last week to fund Department of Homeland Security agencies through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Valadao did not respond to a request for comment for this report.
Constituents including teachers and retired individuals gathered Monday afternoon on Douty Street and Hwy. 198 Bridge, a block south of Valadao’s Hanford district office as part of the Kings County Activism Network’s weeklong demonstrations in the Hanford-Lemoore area.
Democrats in the Senate would not vote this week to approve more funding for the DHS in the wake of the Minneapolis’ killing of intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti by border patrol agents on Saturday.
This week the Sacramento Bee reported that Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino — the public face of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown — was demoted and may return to his post in El Centro, along the U.S.-Mexico border, amid controversy over enforcement operations and social media.
Jorgensen said the peaceful protest is a message to Valadao to “start representing constituents, stop rubber stamping anything that Trump wants and to stop favoring billionaires over regular citizens.”
On Tuesday people were outside Valadao’s office while on Wednesday they demonstrated at 12th Avenue and Hwy. 198 Bridge with other demonstrations planned for the rest of the week including a protest on Saturday on 12th Avenue and Lacey Boulevard.
“We’re here because we don’t like what’s going on in the government, and the people seem to have the power, because our legislators aren’t listening to us, especially David Valadao, who’s just down the street,” said Karla Orosco, Kings County Activism organizer.
She said demonstrating at different bridges in Kings County, including those on Hwy. 198 between Hanford and Lemoore, is part of the national movement Visibility Brigade.
Greg Weatherup, a Hanford resident, said “there’s so many signs about so many different issues, because so much of this is just unprecedented and not right.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2026 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Hanford residents rally against ICE violence, urge Rep. Valadao to oppose tactics."
