Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained a man in Clovis on Monday morning, according to a grassroots community organization.
Faith in the Valley, which operates a watch network on ICE activities in the Central Valley, said a gardener was detained on his way to work at Willow and Shepherd in Clovis on Monday morning.
The man was detained by two DEA agents and one federal agent, according to an alert message sent out by the organization.
Clovis Police confirmed that they received a notification from ICE before 7 a.m. on Monday that ICE would be present in Clovis, said Ty Wood, spokesperson for the police department.
“Like any other law enforcement agency, they notified us that they would be in our jurisdiction, and they also stated that no assistance was needed,” Wood said. “There were no other details that I’m aware of that they shared with us.”
Wood said ICE did not share information about its enforcement with the police department.
“When a law enforcement agency notifies us of their presence or activity in our jurisdiction, they typically do not share additional information, unless they are requesting assistance,” Wood said.
Monday’s incident marked the first-known sighting of ICE agents in Clovis since President Donald Trump launched a deportation crackdown last year. Wood said he did not have information on when ICE was last in Clovis.
ICE has not carried out any large operations in Fresno similar to the ones in Democrat-led cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis. However, ICE officers have been present in the area and have, for example, shown up during regular check-ins at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in downtown Fresno.
In the past week, Faith in the Valley reported two other ICE detentions in Fresno. One incident happened at the cross streets of Belmont and Mariposa avenues in Fresno on Monday and another at the USCIS office last Thursday.
Earlier this week, a video circulating on social media showed three agents standing beside a regular van and a black car on West Willow Avenue. Both vehicles had their police lights flashing. One of the agents was seen in a vest that said “DEA,” and the other two vests said “police.” One of the agents was seen carrying an ICE badge.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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