Sacramento’s Asian American Community Grapples With Fear Amid Raids

(SACRAMENTO) A sharp rise in federal immigration actions has unsettled Sacramento’s Asian American neighborhoods in 2025, with advocates describing fear that reaches from workplaces to schoolyards. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of Asians in California have tripled from 2024 to 2025, according to a report released on August 19. Researchers at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center also found a marked rise in enforcement between June 2024 and May 2025, with Asian American and Pacific Islander communities hit hard.

The result in Sacramento: families staying home, shops closing early, and growing pressure on state leaders to demand clear rules for federal agents operating in the city.

Visible operations and community impact

Residents describe highly visible operations since July, when Border Patrol teams expanded into Sacramento after a court halted similar raids in Los Angeles. Witnesses reported agents in masks and unmarked vehicles approaching people outside restaurants, at job sites, and near courthouses.

While Latino communities remain deeply affected, recent activity has explicitly focused on Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, Chinese, and Japanese communities. More than 20 people were arrested in and near Sacramento’s Little Tokyo Village Plaza in July alone, according to legal groups tracking cases.

Parents told organizers they now skip medical visits and keep kids home from school to avoid encounters. The net effect: businesses cutting hours, students missing class, elders avoiding public spaces, and growing anxiety across neighborhoods.

Escalating enforcement and legal fights

Under renewed directives from President Trump’s administration, ICE and Border Patrol have intensified operations in California, often without clear identification, drawing protests from local officials and attorneys.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on July 11, 2025, limiting certain ICE tactics, including racial profiling (targeting people based on race) and detentions without agents identifying themselves. The order is now on appeal and does not fully stop the practices, leaving many unsure which rules apply on any given day.

California’s SB 54—the state “sanctuary” law—continues to block state and local police from helping with federal immigration enforcement in most situations. Attorney General Rob Bonta issued updated guidance in July reinforcing these limits and urging departments to train officers on contacts with federal agents.

Bonta’s office also continues to defend birthright citizenship and health care access for DACA recipients in ongoing federal lawsuits, reflecting the state’s broader legal stance against federal rollbacks. For residents seeking help or to report suspected unlawful actions by federal officers, the Attorney General’s immigrant resources page is available at https://oag.ca.gov/immigrant.

Federal officials defend the stepped-up operations as needed for public safety. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, speaking about activity in Los Angeles, said, “We’re here making Los Angeles a safer place since we won’t have politicians that’ll do that, we do that ourselves.” Community attorneys counter that these tactics sweep up long-settled residents, including refugees, and risk violating the Constitution when agents do not identify themselves or use race as a factor.

Key legal status: The July 11 restraining order limits some federal tactics but is on appeal; California laws like SB 54 still restrict local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Community response and pending legislation

California lawmakers are advancing new transparency bills intended to require federal immigration agents to show clear identification and to restrict private bounty hunters from joining enforcement work. SB 805 and SB 627—backed by the AAPI Legislative Caucus—advanced this summer after reports of “secret police” tactics.

Assemblymember Mike Fong, the caucus chair, said: “Individuals jump out of unmarked cars with masks on and sometimes with weapons drawn to detain people without identifying themselves. People from our community are afraid to go to work, go to the doctor, or go to the grocery store. It is time we put a stop to it. SB 805 and SB 627 are reasonable transparency measures to keep our community safe.” Assemblymember Mark González added, “There is no place for secret police in California. No one enforcing the law should get to hide from the people they are sworn to protect.”

The AAPI Legislative Caucus also prioritized bills addressing the fallout of stepped-up enforcement and other barriers:

• AB 262: State grants for immigrants denied federal disaster aid.
• AB 413: Multilingual access to housing services.
• AB 1362: Labor protections for temporary immigrant workers.
• SB 509: Training for law enforcement to recognize and respond to transnational repression.

More than 100 Asian American organizations rallied in Sacramento in May to demand urgent state action and clear guardrails on federal agents. Organizers say crowds included elders who survived war and resettled in the United States but now fear leaving home. Civil rights advocates warn that current tactics echo past injustices, including the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, and argue that communities should not face armed stops by masked officers who refuse to identify themselves.

Practical guidance and community resources

For people at risk, community legal teams continue to share simple, practical instructions if approached by ICE or Border Patrol:

1. Stay calm and remain silent. You don’t have to answer questions about where you were born or your status.
2. Do not open the door unless agents show a warrant signed by a judge with your name on it. Ask them to slip it under the door.
3. Ask for a lawyer and contact a trusted legal aid group right away.
4. Do not sign anything you don’t understand.

Community and government supports include:

• The California Attorney General’s Office hotline and immigrant resources.
• Wallet cards in several Asian languages distributed by advocates.
• Rapid response hotlines that verify rumors, send legal observers, and connect families to attorneys and consular help.
• Legal clinics and know-your-rights sessions run by community groups.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, steady, accurate information—especially about the limits of federal authority under SB 54—can lower panic and reduce risky encounters, while documented reports help lawyers challenge improper arrests in court.

Broader consequences and timelines

The stakes extend beyond arrests. Lawyers report:

• Mixed-status families splitting decisions between attending work and staying home.
• Small businesses losing staff after early morning pickups.
• Students missing school due to fear.
• Clinics seeing canceled visits by patients who need regular care, including seniors and new mothers.

Legal uncertainty adds stress for people with pending asylum claims, Temporary Protected Status, or old removal orders, who worry that routine trips—to traffic court or to a job site—could end in detention.

What happens next will depend on several timelines:

• SB 805 and SB 627 face key votes in committee and on the floor in the coming weeks.
• The Ninth Circuit will decide whether to keep or narrow the July restraining order as the case proceeds.
• Separate federal suits over birthright citizenship and DACA-related health coverage continue, with the Attorney General’s office pledging ongoing defense.
• Community groups plan ongoing know-your-rights sessions, legal clinics, and public rallies through the end of the year.

In Sacramento, local leaders emphasize that city police do not take part in immigration arrests under SB 54, and that schools and hospitals remain safe places to seek help. For immediate assistance, residents can contact trusted local legal aid groups or the California Attorney General’s immigrant resources page.

Press inquiries related to Assembly leadership may be directed to Press Secretary Cynthia Moreno at 916-319-2029 or [email protected].

As enforcement expands and court orders shift, the central demands from Sacramento’s Asian American community remain: clear identification by federal agents—and clear, reliable information for the public.