ICE arrests farmworkers, sparking fears in the Central Valley over immigrants and the economy

WASCO, Calif. - Jesus Aceves was driving three of his fellow farmworkers to the tomato fields in the early-morning darkness when he saw lights flash behind him.

ICE agents pulled him over and asked for his license, registration and insurance and, most forebodingly, whether the men were in the United States legally.

Aceves and his passengers were taken to an immigration detention facility. But none of them had been specifically targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Three of the men had no criminal records. The most serious blots on the 44-year-old Aceves' record were several convictions - the most recent in 2012 - for driving without a license.

That morning, an ICE spokesman said, agents went to a Kern County residence where they thought an immigration target lived. One of the men who got into Aceves' car matched that person's description, he said. The ICE agents followed.

The arrests were part of a larger sweep in California's agricultural heartland that has sent fear through the Central Valley, where for generations, immigrants here legally and illegally have picked crops. In some fields, almost all of the foreign workers are in the country without legal status.

While many immigrants have been on edge since President Donald Trump vowed a crackdown on illegal immigration, the recent sweeps have been particularly concerning because they included the arrests of people not specifically targeted by ICE.

The concern extends to farmers, who fear more sweeps will drive away labor at a time when some are struggling to get enough workers to pick the crops.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ice-arrests-farmworkers-sparking-fears-in-the-central-valley-over-immigrants-and-the-economy/ar-AAvp6sv?li=BBnb7Kz

Trump's going to give farmers the double whammy.

Can't sell their crops because of tariffs. Can't harvest the crops because most Americans don't want to do it.

MAGA!!!!!