U.S. Rep. Josh Harder said he walked away frustrated by a Stockton immigration facility’s staffers’ “nonanswers” on its treatment of Central Valley immigrants, including its detention of dozens following routine appointments since late October.
The California representative, joined by three of his staffers, spent about an hour touring the first floor of the building in central Stockton. Afterward, he described holding cells barely large enough for one person, where he said people were held up to 72 hours.
He said Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff gave him “unconvincing” answers.
“Frankly, I’m not satisfied with what I just heard,” he said at a morning news conference at an empty lot near the Stockton ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations facility. “I was met with a lot of nonanswers.”
Seven other San Joaquin County leaders joined Harder, D-Tracy, outside the facility, including Sen. Jerry McNerney, Councilmember Mario Enriquez and Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom — the latter who described the county as one “built by and inhabited by immigrants.”
“ICE enforcement is no longer about immigration: It is about intimidation,” said Ransom in her remarks. “It is about abuse of power, and it is unacceptable.”
Harder’s visit follows months of controversial activity at the ICE facility as immigration enforcement escalates across the country. In Stockton, a random weekend summons in October led to the arrest of about 25 area immigrants after hours. Since then, the central Stockton facility has detained dozens more, according to social media alerts by the immigrant rights nonprofit Faith in the Valley.
In a letter to ICE’s acting director Todd Lyons obtained by Stocktonia, Harder demanded answers for Stockton’s “concerning ICE activity,” such as its use of chemical agents and force against protestors, the arrest of U.S. citizens and the mass arrests of longtime San Joaquin Valley residents with no criminal record.
ICE officials have yet to respond to Harder’s letter, he said, despite granting the congressmember his visit to the building. Earlier this month, DHS directed members of Congress to give seven days’ notice before a facility visit, a policy that contradicts a 2024 federal appropriations law. Harder said his office had to schedule the tour “a ways in advance,” but didn’t give a precise time frame.
“[It’s] a living nightmare that our neighbors are facing every single day,” said Harder, who referenced a “skyrocket” of concerns from Stockton residents about ICE activity. “People have been afraid for a while.”
Harder called for the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying “I don’t want to write her a letter. I want her gone.” He said he favors reforms “to rein in ICE,” starting with a national ban of masked ICE agents, mandates for body cameras, strict limits on the use of force, the required use of warrants and prohibiting the deportation of U.S. citizens.
“It’s the most basic thing that they could do,” said organizer Zaragoza-Yáñez. “Human rights do not end at that facility door.”
Since at least late fall, ICE offices including ones in San Diego, Fresno and Stockton have detained immigrants after routine appointments, Times of San Diego and Stocktonia reported.
On the weekend of Oct. 25, at least 50 northern California residents were called to the central Stockton ICE facility, which advocates say is normally open Monday through Friday. The notice came to some just the night before through a notification via an electronic messaging system, according to immigration advocates and lawyers.
Immigration enforcement has occurred throughout Stockton beyond the facility’s check ins. In mid-January, at least two Stockton immigrants were detained, said Nora Zaragoza-Yáñez, head of Faith in the Valley’s rapid response network that serves immigrant communities in the Central Valley — one during a traffic stop near a Hammer Lane shopping center, the other at his home.
Like most of those with mandated check-ins at the Stockton facility, those detained are Hispanic, Latino or Sikh Punjabi, she said.
Meanwhile, regular immigration check-ins at the building continued.
A Stockton mother, with her two children in tow, arrived early Thursday morning before Harder’s visit, for her appointment. The check-ins happen every three months, and always lead to her feeling “very nervous,” she said.
“I don’t know if they’re going to arrest me,” the mother said in Spanish. She asked not wish to share her name, because she fears being detained.
“The whole time, I can’t sleep,” she added, her lack of sleep, often lasting a month prior to her visit.
Harder said he had asked staff at the Stockton facility how they determine a person’s citizenship, a question he said he received from constituents as ICE has repeatedly detained U.S. citizens across the country, arrests reportedly linked to racial and ethnic profiling.
“The answer I got is the agent [asks] them a bunch of questions and then figures out if they’re a citizen,” said an exasperated Harder. “There has to be a better process.”
Another man, who appeared for his routine check in on a recent Friday, said appointments at the Stockton facility have only increased, compared to when he would visit the facility once a year during the Biden administration.
“They always treat you badly,” said the man in Spanish, who declined to give his name. “Como que son bien perros … very arrogant. You can see it right away as soon as you walk in.”
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