Latest news with #MiguelArias


New York Post
16-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
False ICE raid rumor spread by California city councilmember spoils popular flea market, hurts local vendors: ‘He scared a lot of Mexicans away'
A popular outdoor flea market in California was left empty after a false rumor about an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid was spread by a Fresno city councilmember and spun out of control online — ruining the weekend for many vendors who rely on the market for income. Fresno Councilmember Miguel Arias warned of an impending ICE raid at the Cherry Avenue Auction, which typically draws thousands of locals each weekend, during a council meeting on Thursday. 'We have learned that this weekend, ICE is planning to engage in a massive immigration raid at the Cherry Auction in Fresno. So, I would advise our immigrant community to stay away from the Cherry Auction this weekend, as they could be putting themselves and their families at risk of being picked up,' Arias said. 3 The Cherry Avenue Auction was empty over the weekend after a false ICE raid rumor was spread. Fox26 The warning was enough to put many residents of Fresno and Easton, the community that hosts the market, on high alert. Many heard Arias' warnings repeated on TikTok, and one man stood about a block from the market over the weekend holding a sign reading 'La migra está en el remate,' or 'immigration is at the auction' in English, The Fresno Bee reported. 3 Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias originally warned about the raid during a City Council meeting last Thursday. Facebook Even so, the Cherry Avenue Auction insisted that it had 'no knowledge of any planned ICE raid' and had 'not been notified of any such action.' 'We are also aware of recent public comments by Councilmember Miguel Arias, claiming to have knowledge of an ICE raid at our location. Since Cherry Avenue Auction is located within Fresno County jurisdiction — not the city of Fresno — we find it puzzling and offensive that a city councilmember would claim to possess such information,' the auction wrote in a statement. Many vendors were disappointed by the small turnout at the usually packed swap meet and struggled to fathom how they would supplement the lost earnings as the market drew to a close. 'I don't see the way I'm going to make any money out here today. This is my main source of income and today is one of the most important days of the week for me, so it's really affecting me,' Robert Brambila, who has sold outdoor work gear at the market for three decades, told The Bee. 3 Arias thanked the local immigrant community in a Facebook post after the raid didn't happen. Fox26 Other vendors echoed Brambila's sentiments — and struggled to understand Arias' decision-making. 'If Arias just spread a rumor, he caused people to lose a lot of money today. He scared a lot of Mexicans away,' Devon Solis, a vendor who sells plants and clothing with her family, told The Bee. In the wake of the market's washout weekend, Arias surmised that the ICE raid didn't take place because of the immigrant community 'exercising precaution' following his warnings. 'Please continue sharing ICE activity taking place in your area, as it has become the best way to keep each other safe during President Trump's cruel ICE raids,' Arias wrote on Facebook.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police military equipment requires public scrutiny. Fresno fails transparency test
Fresno residents who ignore or sidestep the law risk being placed under arrest. But what happens when laws that govern police are ignored or sidestepped by city leaders? Not a thing. They simply adjourn for lunch. Over the last few months, dozens of cities, counties and even universities throughout California held community meetings required by a three-year-old state law that provides public oversight over the use of military equipment by local law enforcement agencies. Los Angeles, San Francisco, San José, San Diego, Sacramento, Burbank, Santa Clara, Tustin, Salinas, Orange County, Alameda County, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine and my leafy hometown of Los Altos all turned up in a simple Google search. Opinion Even Huntington Beach, California's least likely city to comply with state laws. Noticeably absent from the list of law-abiders: Fresno. Born out of local law enforcement agencies rolling up in armored vehicles and riot gear in response to largely peaceful protests during the summer of 2020, AB 481 mandates police and sheriff's departments gain prior approval before purchasing specified types of 'military equipment' and compile an annual report of their existing inventories that describes every item and their authorized uses. Those reports must be made publicly available and within 30 days accompanied by 'at least one well-publicized and conveniently located community engagement meeting' to provide residents with an open forum for questions about its contents as well as the agency's funding, acquisition or use of military equipment. The idea isn't to stifle local law enforcement. It's to ensure transparency, which creates increased trust. In Fresno, the public is getting the short end of the baton. The Fresno Police Department's annual military equipment inventory and use report can be found online – at least by those who can successfully navigate the city's website – but no community engagement forums have taken place since AB 481 went into effect. A handful of Fresno residents attended Thursday's council meeting and submitted public comments to remind city leaders of their responsibility. They were summarily ignored. The city council's approval of its police department's military equipment survey and use policy was contained in the consent calendar portion of the meeting agenda. Had the item not been pulled by Councilmember Miguel Arias, who posed a few rudimentary questions to Chief Mindy Casto, there would've been zero discussion of the subject aside from what was aired during public comment. This meager discourse nowhere near clears the bar of a 'well-publicized and conveniently located community engagement meeting' mandated by AB 481 – regardless of any specious claim or legal interpretation made by City Manager Georgeanne White and City Attorney Andrew Janz. What's more, both know better. In response to public comment, White strongly asserted (and sounded overly defensive) that the city has a responsibility not to send police officers into a situation where they are outgunned and in undue danger. I agree, except that's not really the point. Regardless of how one feels about Fresno police spending $435,000 on a new armored vehicle or having 517 AR-15 assault rifles and 158 canisters of tear gas at their disposal, the law is plain. And in California's fifth-largest city, plainly ignored. Trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve requires openness and effort by both parties. Fitting that Fresno City Hall is located on a one-way street.