{"id":27805,"date":"2025-01-18T17:18:04","date_gmt":"2025-01-19T00:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/?p=27805"},"modified":"2025-01-19T13:12:53","modified_gmt":"2025-01-19T20:12:53","slug":"tulare-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/en\/tulare-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Fear paralyzes small town in Tulare County, California, after raids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ethnic Media Services.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Residents of Poplar, an unincorporated community in Tulare County, say the raids have paralyzed the town.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Fear
Mari Perez Ruiz of the Community Valley Empowerment Alliance discusses recent raids with a community of indigenous farmworkers in Tulare County. (Credit: Manuel Ortiz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Listen to this note:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/peninsula360press.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Viviana-6405220.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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POPLAR, Calif. \u2013 In the early 1970s, county officials called this unincorporated town in California's agricultural heartland \u201cawithout authentic future<\/a>\u201d. That rating, which involved drastic cuts in basic services, was maintained until 2023.<\/p>\n

Now, after a series of immigration raids that began Jan. 7 in neighboring Kern County, residents here say the future really looks bleak.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are scared. They don\u2019t want to go out. We\u2019re all scared,\u201d says Gregorio, a seven-year resident of Poplar and owner of a local business that caters to the community\u2019s farmworker population. (We\u2019re not using Gregorio\u2019s last name to protect his identity.)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t have papers, it\u2019s not safe to walk down the street,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd this is just the beginning. The situation is going to get worse in the next four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just days before Donald Trump takes office as president, the raids, dubbed \u201cReturn to Sender\u201d by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), are seen here as a dress rehearsal for his promised campaign of mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants.<\/p>\n

CBP agent Gregory Bovino, who led the raids, said in a social media post that CBP officers reserved the right to make arrests of anyone suspected of being in the country illegally without regard to due process. He promised \u201cthere will be more.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Here in the #PremierSector<\/a> we go the extra mile\u2014or 500 of them\u2014to protect our nation and communities from bad people and bad things. Two child rapists were caught the first day with more to eat.#KernCounty<\/a> #LongArmOfTheLaw<\/a> #USBP<\/a> #BorderPatrol<\/a> #NewYearNewArrest<\/a> #Bakersfield<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/n7CJ4DyPZM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 USBP Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino (@USBPChiefELC) January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n