Residents of Poplar, an unincorporated community in Tulare County, say the raids have paralyzed the town.
POPLAR, California – In the early 1970s, county officials called this unincorporated town in California’s agricultural heartland “a city with a lot of character.”without authentic future?. That rating, which involved drastic cuts in basic services, was maintained until 2023.
Now, after a series of immigration raids that began Jan. 7 in neighboring Kern County, residents here say the future really looks bleak.
"People are scared. They don't want to go out. We're all scared," said Gregorio, a seven-year resident of Poplar and owner of a local business that serves the community's farmworker population. (We're not using Gregorio's last name to protect his identity.)
"If you don't have papers, it's not safe to walk down the street," he said. "And this is just the beginning. The situation is going to get worse in the next four months."
Just days before Donald Trump takes office as president, the raids, dubbed "Return to Sender" by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), are seen here as a dress rehearsal for his promised campaign of mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants.
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 that “there will be more.”
Here in the #PremierSector we go the extra mile?or 500 of them?to protect our nation and communities from bad people and bad things. Two child rapists were caught the first day with more to eat.#KernCounty #LongArmOfTheLaw #USBP #BorderPatrol #NewYearNewArrest #Bakersfield pic.twitter.com/n7CJ4DyPZM
? USBP Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino (@USBPChiefELC) January 8, 2025
CBP reports that approximately 78 arrests were made over the course of the three-day operation, including individuals with outstanding arrest warrants for crimes ranging from sexual assault of minors to illegal possession of drugs and firearms, as well as DUI and other misdemeanors.
CBP says the raids were limited to Kern County, but several Poplar residents say they saw CBP agents patrolling local gathering spaces in and around the city. Several people who asked not to be identified described agents detaining a person on private land.
Requests for comment from CBP to confirm the statements were not returned by the time of publication. A spokesperson for the Tulare County Sheriff's Office said they are not aware of any operations or arrests in the county.
CBP spokesman David Kim initially told reporters that Operation Return to Sender was targeted at specific individuals and was not a sweeping raid. He acknowledged, however, that people who had not been previously identified for apprehension because of criminal records were also detained.
Migrant farmworkers in Poplar, Tulare County, speak out about the fear that has gripped the community following recent immigration raids.
“We don’t know what’s going on with the raids,” Gregorio said, adding that the whirlwind of misinformation online is exacerbating the spike residents are experiencing. “People are posting all kinds of lies on social media. Everyone is confused about what’s true and what’s not.”
The fear gripping the community of Poplar and the entire region is also affecting the local economy. Silvia (her last name is being withheld to protect her identity) says sales at her bakery have dropped by 70% since last week's raids, as residents and families are afraid to leave their homes even to buy basic necessities.
"It's stressful," she said. "If I don't see someone for a day, let's say a regular day, I worry about what might have happened to them.