How to combat misinformation and fact-check ICE sightings in Mendocino County
MENDOCINO CO., 3/14/25 – On Tuesday, swarms of social media posts indicated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were seen near the Holiday Inn and the Costco on Airport Park Boulevard in Ukiah.
However, according to Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall, there have been no reports of ICE agents enacting raids in the county, but he can confirm that federal agents were in town for a separate investigation.
In a statement to The Mendocino Voice, Kendall noted that federal agents did use the interview room at the Sheriff’s Office to investigate a crime, but it was not related to immigration.
“People were here from a federal agency to use our offices,” Kendall said. “But I checked with the agents to make sure it had nothing to do with immigration.”
He also noted that Senate Bill 54, known as the California Values Act, prohibits law enforcement and public institutions in the state from sharing information or coordinating with ICE agents on deportations.
Before Kendall verified and informed the public that there were no ICE agents organizing deportations, several social media posts were published by community members, inciting fear and anxiety in the local immigrant community.
Even though federal agents were conducting an investigation in the county, both the Ukiah Police Department and the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said there have been no reports of ICE agents conducting raids. The agents, according to Kendall, were part of a special response team investigation and were not involved in immigration enforcement.
According to Richard Beam, a communications officer for ICE’s Los Angeles office, although SRT agents operate under ICE’s jurisdiction, they often handle investigations involving criminal records, drug cartels, or other gang activity. SRT agents must have specific search warrants to conduct investigations. These specialized teams rarely enter communities to carry out immigration enforcement without a warrant or a specific criminal history tied to an individual or group.
The confusion and surge of social media posts about immigration raids have been common since President Donald Trump issued executive orders to increase deportations across the U.S., and the spread of misinformation has been increasing in California.
According to Berkeley immigration attorney Cara Jobson, while the information can be confusing, there are key indicators to consider before assuming an ICE agent is in the area.
“Usually their uniforms will say ‘ICE police’ or something like that,” Jobson said in an interview. “The vehicles will usually have a federal government logo and be white with a large blue stripe.”
Jobson said that before jumping to conclusions, people should contact local authorities or the nearest rapid response network, which is an organization of volunteers that assist in verifying the presence of ICE agents in local communities. These organizations can also assist with legal questions and educating immigrants about their rights. Before immediately posting on social media that ICE agents are in town, Jobson recommends that you contact one of these networks.
“You don’t want to create unnecessary panic, but you want people to have good information,” Jobson said. “It doesn’t hurt to call a couple places like a rapid response network and say I’m on this street and I see a bunch of ICE trucks or vans. That is reasonable.”
Jobson also said it’s crucial to know your rights if you encounter an ICE agent and find yourself in a difficult situation. She emphasized that, whether you’re an immigrant with or without legal status, you should carry a “red card” describing your rights, which can be downloaded and printed online.
“These cards are available to citizens and non-citizens alike, you’re not outing yourself as having any particular status by presenting the card,” she said. “Many people are ordering them and they’re in lots of different languages like English and Spanish. The importance of the card is so if someone gets stopped by ICE or approached on the street or wherever the location is they know exactly what to do.”
If you or someone you know has seen or heard that there is an ICE agent in your county, several organizations in Northern California can help verify the information before you report it to your local community.
Here is a list of places you can contact to verify if there are ICE agents in your area:
The North Bay Rapid Response Network, though centered in Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties, can still help verify information and review photos or videos to determine whether they show ICE agents or other federal officials. You can contact them at (707) 800-4544.
Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa has an immigration department that can be contacted if you believe ICE agents are in your area. You can reach them at (707) 578-6000.
You can also contact Nuestra Alianza de Willits, located in Willits, to report any possible sightings of ICE agents and ask them to help verify your photos or videos. Reach them at (707) 456-9418.
Legal Services of Northern California, which has an office in Ukiah, can assist with immigration paperwork and explain your rights as an immigrant. You can contact them if you have questions about what to do if you see an ICE agent in your area. Reach them at (707) 462-1471.
After years of political clashes, is this Central Valley community finally on a path to clean water?
Despite recent political momentum, the tiny Tulare County community of East Orosi remains without a clear path forward to solving its decades-long struggle with contaminated drinking water.
Disputes between local and state officials, coupled with deep divisions and infighting among local district water board members have thwarted efforts to clear up the community’s water for many years.
Formal efforts to consolidate East Orosi’s water system with the Orosi system have been underway since at least 2018, but little progress has been made.
The slow crawl towards a solution has left East Orosi residents in fear of their own tap water. Many rely on bottled water deliveries, despite living less than a mile from Orosi and its safe, clean water.
“Imagine children knowing that water only comes from a bottle and not from their own tap,” said Eddie Valero, a native of Cutler-Orosi who now represents District 4 of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors.
“People are just tired; East Orosi residents go to Orosi, they frequent the restaurants, the supermarkets [and] also take their kids to schools in Orosi, they are part of the fabric of our communities.”
What’s wrong with East Orosi’s water?
Since 2003, state and federal authorities have cited East Orosi for at least 99 clean water-related violations, according to online state water board records, including numerous nitrate-related violations.
Nitrates disrupt a blood cell’s capacity to carry oxygen through the body. Infants are most vulnerable as nitrates can be absorbed into their bloodstream and cause “blue baby syndrome.” Self-Help Enterprises, a nonprofit organization, has helped the East Orosi and surrounding communities by delivering bottled water to residents through the use of a state grant, even going as far as installing plastic water tanks in homes that they refill every two weeks. They have even reimbursed homeowners who qualify for a new private water well.
However, this is not nearly enough to keep up with the demand for water. In 2022, Self-Help Enterprises estimated that around 8,000 wells would dry up in just a couple of years, with the cost to remedy this estimated clean-up cost of to be around $1 billion over the next 20 years.
How did we get here?
East Orosi’s long struggle for clean water has been fueled by years of political clashing between the neighboring Orosi Public Utility District (OPUD) and the California State Water Resources Control Board (CSWRCB), dysfunction by the East Orosi Community Services District (EOCSD) and, most recently, resistance from three OPUD board members who refused to leave office for several weeks, despite losing their reelection campaigns last year.
A new study, that was expected to be released Friday by the California State Water Board, examines the feasibility of consolidating seven rural water districts in Tulare County, including Orosi and East Orosi. Public comments can be submitted until March 13.
The feasibility study drops at a time when the state water board’s Office of Public Engagement, Equity, and Tribal Affairs (OPEETA) have begun hosting meetings between seven water districts and their constituencies to discuss potential long-term and sustainable water solutions for rural communities in northern Tulare County.
The meetings will take place between Orosi, East Orosi, Cutler, Yettem, Monsoon, Seville and Sultana’s water districts.
The meetings are being held to get community and local government feedback on the individual water issues affecting the seven communities to determine a potential regional water solution and is a part of the Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) program.
At the first meeting on Feb. 26 at the Monson-Sultana School Cafeteria, Laurel Firestone, a member of the state water board, explained that while a regional water system solution is possible, it would require all seven communities to collaborate together to attract the most amount of funding from the state.
“In order to be able to be competitive for the kind of funding that’s needed to develop a bigger regional infrastructure, we need the region to have a vision for what that looks like,” Firestone said. “Not just be a band aid, but be something that lifts the whole region.”
But bringing the various groups together under a united vision has proven easier said than done.
Particularly in East Orosi where recent political disputes and internal fighting grew loud enough to draw the attention of California’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Three East Orosi board members made headlines earlier this year when they refused to accept their re-election losses and tried to force Tulare County to hold new elections. They continued to serve on the board even after the three candidates elected by voters were sworn in Dec. 6.
Bonta stepped in, ordering the members — Reynaldo Rivas, Maria C. Gonzalez and Johnny Sandoval — to step down under threat of legal action.
The board members quickly relented, stepping down in mid-January, but not before making some controversial changes to the board’s rules and bylaws. According to the three candidates that defeated the incumbents — Alejandro Brito, Nancy Cerda Serna and Angela Ruiz-Alvarez — the changes added new requirements for elected members to serve in leadership positions.
“You tied our hands before we even got here and I don’t understand why,” said Serna during the Feb. 11 meeting. “I don’t believe there was a need for an ordinance like that.”
Both Serna and Ruiz-Alvarez called for the ordinance to be reviewed by a third-party counsel and questioned both the legality of the ordinance and the reasoning behind its implementation.
During a special meeting on Feb. 25, Board President Alex Marroquin said that the previous board passed the ordinance because they felt the three new incoming members were “coming in with maybe other desires.”
Both Serna and Ruiz-Alvarez explained that they entered the election out of a desire to better represent the community and not because of ulterior motives.
“I want to be on this board, there’s no hidden agenda, I want to do it because I wanted to give back to my community,” Cerna said.
Board members agreed to revisit the issue at a still unscheduled meeting. But despite the effort’s long track record of political gridlock, many involved remain hopeful that things will be different this time around.
“Thankfully, these conversations are coming back,” Valero said, “hopefully to unite us once again in order to see a solution to the problems that exist.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the release of a new feasibility study. The study was expected Friday, but had not been released as of Monday, March 10, 2025.
Federal budget turmoil prompts calls to action at Fort Bragg’s senior center
MENDOCINO CO., CA., 2/21/25 — Even with a microphone, Redwood Coast Seniors Executive Director Jill Rexrode would have had trouble getting her message heard over the cacophony of the daily lunch. Every table in Fort Bragg’s senior center dining room was filled. Lunchers enjoyed meatloaf, green salad, potatoes, and veggies. Volunteers and staff bussed carts burgeoning with cold and hot drinks and desserts. Everywhere the delicious aromas, storytelling, laughter, and clinking of crockery created a din that partly drowned out the piano player in the front. Rexrode needed to talk to the crowd and ask them to write letters and make phone calls about looming cuts to federal funding of these lunches, so she got the piano player to take a break and stood next to the American flag with a microphone and called for attention. Some went silent.
“I really need to talk to you to get your help in getting the Older Americans Act renewed,” Rexrode said. She asked those enjoying the meatloaf, the most popular lunch every week, to take a brochure provided at the door and write and call “all of those” on a long list of politicians and nonprofit groups. She asked the roomful to each send the message to get Congress to return funding used nationwide for senior nutrition.
“Please do this so we can continue to provide our lunches and Meals on Wheels here,” Rexrode said.
A looming federal funding crisis for the Area Agency on Aging of Lake & Mendocino Counties (AAA) could upend the budgets of all the senior centers in Lake County and three in Mendocino County, but only Fort Bragg’s Redwood Coast Seniors has chosen to make a fuss after the AAA alerted all its client senior centers that trouble was brewing.
Redwood Coast Seniors got $268,000 in federal money last year through AAA, Rexrode said. This provides much of the cost of one of the county’s largest Meals on Wheels and senior center dining programs.
Willits and Ukiah senior centers don’t get the federal feeding funds but are dealing with a separate issue, cuts to their outreach programs by Mendocino County. All the senior centers said the current uncertainty and talk of federal cuts is taxing an already thin line in two counties with poverty rates about 20 percent above the statewide average.
The noisy brouhaha coming from the Mendocino Coast has involved dozens of people calling a long list of state, local, federal and elderly activist groups. The call content shows up on local radio, news sites, billboards and social media, but pretty much only in Fort Bragg. The AAA says it’s a problem that does need action and has gotten local political help in fixing it. But many of those being called say they can’t fix the problem in the way callers from Fort Bragg are asking.
Redwood Coast Seniors Executive Director Jill Rexrode in her Fort Bragg, Calif., office on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. Redwood Coast Senior Center provides activities, essential services and programs for active seniors in the Fort Bragg area. (Frank Hartzell via Bay City News)
Understanding the problem that created the activism involves untangling a Gordian knot of partisan politics. Rexrode, like Alexander the Great, cut to the point instead.
“All of that is moot right now. We don’t want ‘he said, she said.’ Who gives a flip about that at this point? The point is we have to work together to renew the Older Americans Act, or thousands of seniors will go hungry.”
Zo Abell, on the Redwood Coast Seniors board at the senior center put it like this: “Support has always been and remains bi-partisan.”
While no payments have stopped yet, a little fix right now could prevent a crash by March, Rexrode said.
Omission of Older Americans Act funds
A December federal budget showdown led to a continuing resolution in place of approving a new budget. The Senate’s version of the continuing resolution included a funded Older Americans Act (OAA). But the version that passed the U.S. House of Representatives failed to include the OAA. There is widespread partisan debate about who is to blame for the omission or exclusion but for now, funding continues to flow based on the old budget.
There has also been some misinformation that President Donald Trump caused the problem when in fact it happened in December, while Joe Biden was still president.
Yet whoever is to blame, the intentional or unintentional omission has created a situation where an appropriation that could have been put to bed for five years now is vulnerable to a new federal budget where Trump and both houses of Congress will have to sign off.
The operating budget for the California Department of Aging (CDA) for Fiscal Year 24/25. Under the umbrella of the California Health and Human Services Agency, the California Department of Aging (CDA) administers programs that serve older adults, adults with disabilities, family caregivers, and residents in long-term care facilities throughout the State. These programs are funded through the federal Older Americans Act, the Older Californians Act, and through the Medi-Cal program. (CDA via Bay City News)
The approach being pushed in Fort Bragg might not be the solution, other advocates for seniors say.
When advocacy groups and representatives on the list provided to seniors and the community in Fort Bragg were contacted they said the funding was continuing to flow at last year’s levels. While they praised Rexrode for bringing the matter to light, they did not feel there was any action that could be taken outside the continuing budget process.
Redwood Coast Seniors prepared 55,000 meals last year, served to seniors in the lunchroom or the grab-and-go program or Meals on Wheels. The Anderson Valley Senior Center serves lunch two days a week. Coastal Seniors in Point Arena also gets federal funds through the Area Agency on Aging for Mendocino and Lake Counties.
Senior centers in Willits and Ukiah do not get the federal funds and are thus not impacted.
Ukiah Senior Center Executive Director Liz Dorsey said the Meals on Wheels program there is conducted by Plowshares, a Ukiah nonprofit that serves the homeless. Dorsey said Ukiah serves about 6,000 lunches per year.
“A large part of the problem is the fear of what might or might not happen. Senior centers are not funded as well as maybe they should be,” Dorsey said.
“We have always operated with uncertainty. But with these fears that people are experiencing right now, with everything in our society in flux, those who have been so generous in the past are potentially less likely to donate. Today I talked to about six or eight businesses, and across the board, I’m hearing ‘I am being slammed right now with donation requests.’”
Richard Baker, executive director of the Willits Senior Center said they serve about 21,000 meals per year, half in hall and drive up and half Meals on Wheels.
“Every senior center is run differently. We have a thrift store that generates probably about $330,000 a year. So right now, we have not had to reach out and seek federal funding,” Baker said.
“I could have applied for AAA funds and probably got money there. But why do that when other agencies depend on that money? It’s a pool of money, and if we get into it the pool has less to offer the others,” Baker said.
While Trump may not have created the current crisis, he has advocated for across-the-board cuts to social services, including recommending a cut of 25 percent to food stamp programs. The directors say all of this has added much anxiety to those overseeing thin budgets.
The Mendocino County senior centers all also face county cuts in the $25,000-$50,000 range to outreach programs. Those cuts came during the county’s budget process and will take effect July 1. The directors said they were working to raise that money but faced headwinds of uncertainty.
Lake County Social Services Director Rachael Dillman Parsons described what happened that led to this in a presentation to the board last week. The AAA is integrated into Lake County’s social services department, and all five Lake County senior centers depend on the imperiled federal funding for their meal programs.
California’s population made it one of the youngest states in the 1970 census, but the average age has been getting older since.
And the population is aging quickly in Mendocino and Lake Counties.
Census figures show that in 2022, 23.9 percent of Lake County’s population was 65 and older, up from 17.8 percent in 2010 In 2022; 24.6 percent of Mendocino County’s population was 65 and older in 2022, up from 15.5 percent in 2010, census figures show.
Gavilan doubles its Hollister student body for spring semester
Classes have moved to the newly completed campus on Fairview Road.
This artcle was written by BenitoLink intern Meghan Lee. Lea este artículo en español aquí.
Since opening on Jan. 27, Gavilan College’s campus in Hollister has expanded the services in the community. Administrators say that enrollment has nearly doubled, from 473 students in the 2024 spring semester to 879 in the current semester.
Judy Rodriguez has been the instructional site director of the Hollister campus for 28 years. She said that the new, larger building accommodates a wider range of course offerings than the old site did in the Briggs building in downtown Hollister.
“Students are so appreciative and they’re acclimating to the new campus. They’re excited about being able to take science classes here,” Rodriguez said.
Jaime Rosales is a communications major at Gavilan, where he serves as a peer mentor. He started taking classes in Hollister in 2015, and said the difference between the old and new facilities is huge.
“It’s a big leap forward, I’ll tell you that much. State-of-the-art stuff, huge compared to the other one, it’s a lovely site,” Rosales said. “It hasn’t been without its issues. There’s things to iron out still as far as the building goes. But everything’s been working as it should.”
The campus now offers biology and chemistry classes, which were unavailable at the Briggs site. It also has a cafeteria, library, food pantry and community room. Rodriquez said these new resources are for the whole community, not just students.
“Having a community room that can be used for meetings and workshops provides an opportunity to build relationships with outside entities and opens the door to welcome our community,” Rodriguez said.
Rosales said he hopes to see the campus grow even more.
Jaime Rosales studies in the front lobby of Gavilan College’s new Hollister campus. Photo by Meghan Lee.
“Growth is always good. It means people are going to school, so that’s pretty exciting,” Rosales said.
Gavilan’s Board of Trustees is considering a short-term update for the campus using what remains of Measure X bond money: either a chain link fence around the developed property, or an outdoor athletic facility.
Gavilan Capital Projects Director Serafin Fernandez will be consulting with his team and community members to assess the need for larger projects and secure funding for them.
A south-facing view of Gavilan’s new Hollister campus building, including a cafe and seating. Photo by Meghan Lee.
The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour, United Way, Taylor Farms and the Emma Bowen Foundation.
Water Releases from the Shasta Reservoir Will Double
As a result of significant storms in early February, which resulted in high runoff inflows into Northern California reservoirs, the federal Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) is implementing flood control operations at the Shasta Reservoir. Those operations include doubling water releases from the reservoir, beginning Friday, February 7.
The actions are being undertaken with close coordination between Federal, State and local agencies, according to a press release from Mary Lee Knecht, a spokesperson for the BOR. The BOR coordinates its flood management operations in order to maximize hydropower created by releases from Central Valley Project facilities, including Shasta Dam.
“Federal pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta are currently operating at maximum capacity and storing water in San Luis Reservoir to support south-of-Delta delivery to farms, communities, and wildlife refuges when needed later this year,” according to a press release from the BOR on February 6.
Releases from the Shasta Reservoir will be double from the current rate of 30,000 cubic feet per second to 60,000 cfs, beginning Friday, February 7. The releases will be implemented over the day on Friday, increasing to 40,000 csf by 2 pm, and reaching a full 60,000 by 10 pm.
Keswick Dam, which is located not far downstream from Shasta Dam, will help regulate the flow of the releases from the Shasta Reservoir, which are expected to last at least through the weekend and could be adjusted next week as needed.
Similarly, on the Trinity River, the BOR said, Lewiston Dam releases will increase from 1,500 cfs to 3,500 cfs on Friday. Whiskeytown Dam releases, which are currently at 300 cfs, will remain in place.
Since January 31, the Shasta Reservoir has risen by more than 22 feet, the BOR says. A coordinated team that includes local and state agencies as well as the United States Army Corps of Engineers is working together to implement the water releases.
2.7.25 10:18 pm We have corrected a misspelling in the article’s subheading.
Do you have a correction to share? Email us: editor@shastascout.org.
Under California Law, Shasta County Law Enforcement’s Ability to Collaborate with ICE is Limited
Three days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the federal organization known as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began uploading “single day statistics” to the organization’s official social media accounts as a means of documenting numbers of arrests. On January 23, those stats included 538 arrests. By January 27, the number had more than doubled to 1,179. As recently as this week, some arrested immigrants have reportedly been sent to Guantanamo Bay ahead of their deportations.
While immigration enforcement is currently conducting larger sweeps than were ever undertaken during Trump’s first term, it will still take approximately 30 years to arrest (let alone deport) the 11 million people Trump promises to expel from the Unites States, at current rates. Trump’s rate of immigration-related arrests so far broadly matches the daily deportations numbers produced by the Obama administration, from 2009–2015.
Like any form of arrest and prosecution, the deportation process must meet certain legal requirements. To the frustration of President Trump’s “border czar”, Tom Homan, ICE operations – which often rely on a lack of understanding of what immigration enforcement can and cannot legally do – are sometimes thwarted by community members with a strong knowledge of their own rights.
“They’ve very educated,” Homan told a CNN reporter in reference to those who exercise their rights to remain silent and refuse access to law enforcement that show up to raids without proper warrants.
“They call it ‘know your rights,’” Homan continued. “I call it ‘how to escape arrest.’”
Here in Shasta County, and across California, there are several legal mechanisms in place that may complicate ICE’s process of locating, arresting, and deporting undocumented people. Here’s what you need to know.
California’s Legal Obligation to Protect Undocumented Residents
As demonstrated by Trump’s first two weeks in office, the legal framework that underlies immigration enforcement is immensely complicated, especially in places like California where state law was enacted to defend undocumented residents against the authority of federal agencies. Within California’s 58 counties, debates on whether to cooperate with ICE have divided state from federal jurisdictions, and local politicians from each other even within the same counties.
The California Values Act (SB 54), which was passed in 2017, prohibits local law enforcement–and other state entities such as schools, courts, hospitals–from sharing information with ICE that could lead to the arrest and deportation of an individual or family.
Furthermore, California police officers are not allowed to inquire about immigration status, make an arrest on the basis of a deportation order, or extend an undocumented person’s time in jail for immigration agents to apprehend them, unless they’ve committed a crime that meets a certain threshold.
That threshold includes those who have been convicted of a “serious or violent” crime such as assault, rape, felony drunk driving, or certain kinds of theft. Since Proposition 36 has recategorized some theft and drug possession charges as “aggravated felonies” under the State’s legal system, immigration attorneys believe there could be an increased correlation in deportations.
In Shasta County, representatives of Anderson Police Department (APD) and Redding Police Department (RPD) have both told Shasta Scout they intend to comply with state law by only coordinating with ICE or other federal immigration agents when permitted to do so under the parameters of the California Values Act. The written policies at both RPD and APD are also consistent with the demands of SB 54.
According to Redding Police Chief Brian Barner, the extent of the department’s coordination with ICE during raids in past years has been the receipt of email notifications from the federal law enforcement agency informing local police that an ICE operation was planned in the Redding area.
A Public Information Officer with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, Timothy Mapes, did not specifically confirm whether that department intends to comply with SB 54, but the department’s policy manual mirrors that of APD and RPD, and is also consistent with the California Values Act.
Statewide reporting indicates that at least 28 of California’s 58 Sheriffs have said they plan to comply with State law. That number does not include Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson who did not respond to CalMatters request for comment.
Should local law enforcement choose to flout SB 54, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been unambiguous on California’s response, saying a plan is already in place to address such misconduct.
“We’re prepared to take action against any law enforcement agency that doesn’t follow (the law),” Bonta told journalists at a University of California, Berkeley, seminar in early January.
“There was a time and place to talk about SB 54 to make yourself heard, to seek amendments,” Bonta said. “That was years ago… So now’s the time to follow it.”
What Rights are You Entitled to?
Citizens and noncitizens alike are guaranteed certain rights when interfacing with law enforcement, including federal immigration agents. Whether you encounter law enforcement at work, on public transit, or on the steps of your front door, your rights in California include two primary considerations.
The first is that in most cases, law enforcement agents must have a warrant authorized by a judge in order to lawfully enter a space. The second is that you have the right to remain silent and request to speak with a lawyer, in order to avoid having your words used against you in a court of law later.
Do you have a correction to share? Email us: editor@shastascout.org.
Central Valley farm groups question recent immigration raids. ‘The fear was always there’
When Border Patrol started detaining people in the Central Valley last week, it caught elected officials and immigration advocates off guard. It sent shock waves through the agricultural industry, too.
That was true, especially among citrus growers, who are actively harvesting fruit right now, unlike many other farmers in California’s winter months.
In Kern County, where the immigration sweeps were concentrated, some farms saw as much as 85% of their workforce absent after news of Border Patrol’s presence spread, according to estimates from California Citrus Mutual President Casey Creamer.
In Fresno County, where other fresh fruit growers aren’t in their peak season, farmworkers are still performing important postseason work, like pruning – and many of those workers didn’t show up last week either, said Daniel Hartwig, president of the California Fresh Fruit Association.
“We still saw pruning crews and things like that where we had more than half of crews just not showing up,” Hartwig said, “regardless of their citizenship status.
“Nobody wants to feel like there’s a target on their back,” he said. “Nobody wants to go to work feeling like they’re going to be made into a criminal, regardless of their immigration status.”
These absences follow reports of detainments of several farmworkers during U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s operation “Return to Sender” last week. But the reports were far out of step with what Border Patrol agents shared in official statements about their activity over 300 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
In social media posts, agents have characterized the operation as a targeted pursuit of criminals that resulted in 78 arrests on charges ranging from child abuse to petty theft.
Meanwhile, immigrant rights groups, as well as farmers, have stated the operation appeared much broader than that, sweeping up workers who were going about their usual routines in its tide.
Daniel Larios, a spokesperson for the United Farmworkers Foundation, told Fresnoland they’ve recorded 192 detainments between Jan. 6 and 7 in Kern County – a number that likely grew later in the week, he added.
During last week’s immigration sweep, farmworkers were detained at gas stations and supermarkets they frequent, according to reports out of Bakersfield.
“It feels like they’re just stopping everybody that looks a certain way,” Larios said, “and are basically playing by a playbook that is very outdated.”
The discrepancy has fueled additional concerns from farmers, immigrants’ rights groups and local elected officials alike.
“To me, that doesn’t seem like a targeted, criminal activity,” Creamer said of Border Patrol’s operation.
Border Patrol didn’t respond to a question from Fresnoland about these concerns Tuesday.
And although these immigration sweeps have taken place in the final days of the Biden administration, with President-elect Donald Trump’s promises of a mass deportation campaign, anxieties among immigrant workers in agriculture and other industries remain high.
“When asked about what degree of fear they had on the topic of family separation, two-thirds – like 64% – expressed the highest level of fear,” said Ed Flores, faculty director of the UC Merced Community and Labor Center, alluding to the center’s February 2023 farmworker health study.
“The fear was always there,” he added. “It was always really high, really widespread. But what we’re hearing is that it’s escalating.”
Uncertainty lingers
Though Border Patrol said its operations last week were focused in Kern County, rumors of sightings further north spread widely on social media.
While some of these rumors – including one regarding enforcement targeting Clinica Sierra Vista offices in Fresno – were false, others have yet to be disproven.
Elisa Rivera, a spokesperson state Sen. Anna Caballero, said their office received several phone calls and photos from trusted sources last week showing Border Patrol presence north of Bakersfield. Hartwig said he also heard of Border Patrol sightings in Kingsburg and Caruthers.
Without answers from Border Patrol, the uncertainty lingers.
But as for this week, Hartwig said Monday that he hadn’t heard of continued operations from Border Patrol in the Central Valley.
Farms have seen fewer absences this week as a result, according to Creamer.
Then again, some farmworkers don’t have much of a choice whether to return to the fields, Hartwig said.
“If you’re working in this industry, usually you’re hard-working, and you’re just trying to support your family. That’s what they’ll do,” he said. “There will be some folks that may not come back, but the vast majority of folks will come back. … People want to put food on the table for their families.”
Farm labor concerns heading into the Trump administration
The worries for immigrant workers in the Valley are far from over – especially as advocates wait to see what Trump’s promises of mass deportations will look like as he takes office Monday.
But studies show the Biden administration was on pace to match the number of deportations carried out under the first Trump administration, and the Border Patrol operation took place in the final days of Biden.
“President Trump was already in office for four years,” Hartwig said. “We saw some impacts to the labor force, but we didn’t see widespread, mass issues.”
Flores of UC Merced said there’s a bigger issue here than who’s in the Oval Office – and that is a rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment.
“It’s generally the byproduct of people losing faith in economic systems,” he said. “Workers who don’t have a sufficient safety net, who work full time and live below living wage, who don’t have any retirement set aside – those fears are real.
“During times of uncertainty, people tend to lash out and find scapegoats,” including immigrants, he added.
No matter who’s in office, Creamer said he’s hopeful the administration will help pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, a bill that’s passed the U.S. House of Representatives twice but has yet to make it out of the Senate. The bill was reintroduced by U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse in 2023.
“We think that there’s a bipartisan answer to this issue of border security,” he said of the bill, “plus a legal process to deal with the people that are here and the needs of the agriculture sector.”
Creamer added that he hopes immigration enforcement going forward will focus on folks with criminal histories, rather than “broad immigration sweeps that don’t really deal with the problem and create other unintended consequences.”
“We’re not against police officers going after criminals. This just did not seem to be that,” he said of the recent Border Patrol operation.
But it’s an open question whether immigration authorities can carry out targeted enforcement like that without individuals who don’t have any criminal record getting caught in the crossfire.
“Multiple times during the Biden and during the Obama years, I had heard from national immigration nonprofits that have lawyers that prosecutorial discretion was really a farce,” Flores of UC Merced said. “It was still the same people that ended up being deported.”
While many of these questions won’t be going away for a while, Flores said the next question advocates need to answer is how to keep people informed without stoking unnecessary fear.
“How do we talk about this in the public arena in a productive way that really advances human rights, instead of escalating those fears without really any steps we can take right now to begin addressing the issue?”
In Rare Visit to Redding, Newsom Unveils Educational Initiative that will Broaden Employment Opportunities in Rural Counties
Still taken from Governor Newsom’s official livestream of the press conference at Shasta College.
A group of reporters from across the North State gathered at a Shasta Community College welding lab on December 15, to hear Governor Gavin Newsom announce a new state initiative that broadens employment and educational opportunities throughout California. Members of the “credentialed media” who were invited to attend were met by modest security as they entered the facility where Newsom’s production team was setting up.
The Governor’s formal business attire contrasted starkly with the power tools that surrounded him, setting the stage for the reason behind his visit to Redding: a “new framework” to incentivize job development in industrial and public service fields statewide.
Newsom plans to invest more than $100 million into what he is calling California’s “Master Plan for Career Education.” The initiative is designed to cultivate “career pathways” toward sustainable employment for more Californians by removing four-year degree requirements from some state government jobs. It also establishes a digital “career passport” database or Learning and Employment Record (LER) which Californians can use with employers to present a singular accessible record of both academic transcripts and “verified skills” earned outside the classroom, including volunteering or apprenticeships.
Before Newsom spoke, several individuals from Shasta and the surrounding counties shared personal experiences about their experiences with education in California’s rural communities. Among them was a young firefighter cadet and recent graduate of Shasta College, who has become one of the only female graduates from the College’s Fire Fighter 1 & 2 Academy.
Newly-elected Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick also spoke, describing the difficulties she experienced becoming the first person in her family to attend a university as the child of a single mother growing up in an isolated community.
“I am from Modoc County,” Hadwick explained as she advocated for career education. “I live three hours from a Costco. It is very rural, and career pathways are what we have to show our youth what’s out there.”
Increasing accessibility to higher education and a living wage to those without a typical post-secondary educational trajectory is likely to have a significant impact on the North State’s workforce. According to the US Census, 76.7% of Shasta County residents do not have a bachelor’s degree, which is statistically speaking, a barrier to accruing personal wealth over one’s lifetime. If the Governor’s initiative is implemented as planned, an expanded field of employment opportunities will be within reach for the vast majority of the County.
As Governor Newsom broke down the mechanics of the plan, which is based in part on California’s original 1960’s-era Master Plan for Higher Education, he emphasized that the new bipartisan initiative will ensure local control in its implementation. In Shasta County, some specific local considerations are the area’s higher than average poverty rate, and sociocultural resistance to higher education, as documented in Shasta Scout’s prior reporting.
Newsom acknowledged his own unfamiliarity with life in rural communities, briefly joking with the gaggle of reporters that he “didn’t know anyone lived three hours from a Costco in the United States of America,” in reference to Assemblywoman Headwick’s earlier remarks. He then addressed the differences between rural and urban communities more seriously.
“I say this often, and I’ll say it again–localism is determinative”, Newsom said, adding that parts of the Master Plan’s strategy will be developed alongside locals to meet the North State’s specific needs.“This is not a patronizing plan.”
When asked whether the change of guard in Washington this January will effect the Master Plan, Newsom responded that he and President Elect Donald Trump had “gotten along very well during COVID–notoriously so,” but cautioned that the Trump Administration’s stated goal of “virtually closing” the federal Department of Education would “be a wrecking ball to education here in the North State.”
The reaction to the Governor’s visit from the Shasta County’s highly conservative leadership has been mixed. While Hadwick, along with Shasta College’s President Frank Nigro and other North State representatives have reacted positively, Shasta County CEO David Rickert released a statement Monday articulating his “disappointment” in the Governor’s alleged failure to include any local elected officials during his visit.
Board of Supervisors Kevin Crye also weighed in Newsom’s appearance, which he characterized as “secretive” in a Facebook Live on Monday evening. Noting that Supervisor-elect Matt Plummer was invited to attend Newsom’s event, Crye said he “respects” Plummer’s decision to attend, and suggested that he also would have made an appearance, if invited.
“Yeah, I probably would have went… but I would have definitely spoken my mind,” Crye said before also expressing skepticism about Newsom’s motivations behind the Master Plan.
“I don’t think Gavin Newsom has any desire whatsoever of helping our County whether it’s around water rights, whether it’s around fire… all this was, in my opinion, was an attempt to get some elected Republicans standing behind him.”
A representative from the Governor’s office told Shasta Scout in request for comment that “our office invited or informed local elected officials–across party lines” as per “standard protocol.”
Do you have a correction to share? Email us: editor@shastascout.org.
Round Valley Tribes receives $8.7 million grant to develop housing
MENDOCINO CO., 12/12/24 — State Route 162, also called Covelo Road, lies east of Highway 101, approximately halfway between Willits and Laytonville. After about 45 minutes of driving along windy roads and navigating tight turns, travelers emerge to overlook the green splendor of the Round Valley Reservation, home to the town of Covelo and the Round Valley Indian Tribes—a confederation of seven tribes forced to live together on Yuki tribal land in the 1850s. The path to this remote corner of Mendocino County is beautiful but arduous, with travelers losing internet access for most of the journey. The trip ends with a view of some of the most breathtaking mountains in Northern California, where colorful orange and red trees contrast with white snow on the highest peaks.
Despite the solitude that Round Valley provides, the region’s remoteness has greatly contributed to its lack of resources, particularly in terms of housing for tribal members. High construction costs and limited access to funding have led to a shortage of affordable housing for people on the reservation. According to the Round Valley Indian Housing Authority (RVIHA) directors, 91 Round Valley tribal members are on the waitlist for affordable housing units.
Last month, the housing authority announced it will be receiving $8.7 million in grant funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) through its Homekey Tribal Program. The funds will enable the housing authority to complete Phase 5 of the Tribal Winds project, a multi-family housing development that’s already partially completed. The housing authority will contribute $30,000 annually from its own funds to support the growing housing development.
According to the housing authority, the Tribal Winds project already has 43 housing units completed on the reservation, including a mix of two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom homes. One housing unit has five bedrooms.
Floor plan of a two bedroom Phase 5 house of the Tribal Winds development which will be constructed on Hatchet Mountain Boulevard in Covelo, Calif., in 2025. The Round Valley Indian Housing Authority (RVIHA) announced it will be receiving $8.7 million in grant funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) under its Homekey Tribal Program to complete this multi-family housing development. (LACO Associates via Bay City News)
The next phase is to construct 18 permanent rental units on 9.6 acres of land on Hatchet Mountain Boulevard, a section of grassy fields next to a paved road located about five minutes from the housing authority’s main office on Concow Boulevard. The new phase will be for Round Valley tribal members who are currently homeless or at risk of homelessness. The homes will be single-family units, with priority given to tribal members on the authority’s housing waitlist. The housing authority’s directors stated they are still ironing out the details of the application process for members who wish to apply.
The new development will include 10 two-bedroom homes and eight three-bedroom homes, according to directors. Although the housing authority originally petitioned for units with attached garages, they realized there would not be enough funding for them. Construction should begin in 2025.
Darlene Crabtree, the authority’s finance manager, emphasized that the next phase of development will support families that have had trouble getting into affordable housing.
“We just need to put families in them, we want them to have a home,” Crabtree said in an interview. “It’s rewarding to see people in homes, and originally I wasn’t sure we were going to get the grant.”
Crabtree said that LACO, a Native American-owned civil engineering firm based in Ukiah, serves as the housing authority’s grant writer and was instrumental in securing this most recent grant.
“There’s so many people out there in different situations asking for this money,” she said. “But LACO does a lot of our writing, our engineering and architecture. They helped us a lot with this process.”
Darlene Crabtree, finance manager for the Round Valley Housing Authority (RVIHA), works at her desk in Covelo, Calif., on Wednesday Dec. 4, 2024. (Sydney Fishman/Bay City News)
According to an HCD employee who declined to be named, the application process for grants under the Homekey Program is much less competitive than other state housing programs.
The Homekey Program includes several non-competitive aspects, including that funding is given on a first-come, first-served basis rather than through a competitive scoring system. In competitive scoring programs, applicants are ranked based on the goals of the housing development, its impact on the community and other guidelines.
Nonetheless, the HCD staffer explained that because California tribes had been ineligible for HCD programs until 2021, many tribal governments were unprepared for the Homekey Program’s grant-writing process and lacked sufficient information to complete their applications in a timely manner, negatively affecting tribal authorities’ ability to receive grants for developing housing.
Thus, the nearly $9 million grant secured by LACO for Round Valley was a win that both surprised and exhilarated housing authority directors. Crabtree said a part of the application process involved seeking feedback from Round Valley’s homeless population to identify their greatest needs.
“One of the requirements for the grant application was to have a meeting and hand out a questionnaire on what individuals want, and they mainly talked about housing,” Crabtree said. “This is the biggest grant we’ve been able to get this year. The whole concept of kids and families getting their homes, it’s exciting.”
How Rural Communities Can Fill Care Gaps for Children with Disabilities
Amidst a nationwide shortage of pediatric specialists, families caring for children with special health care needs in rural areas are often forced to travel long distances for care.
Physicians and parents agree that on top of bringing more specialists to rural areas, increasing the flow of information between agencies and making travel reimbursements easier to attain would ease some of this burden on families.
