FRESNO, Calif – Farmers in California’s Central Valley were already facing the pain of high diesel prices when a spike in immigration sweeps this week sent a chilling effect through the region’s farming community just as the harvest season winds down.
The cost of diesel has risen in part by global conflicts, such as the U.S. war with Iran, and by production capacity issues at domestic refineries. Current diesel prices stand at an average of $4.39 per gallon nationally and $6.44 per gallon in California.
The high price of diesel is also being felt among consumers, with the cost of goods jumping up in recent weeks, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index.
Last week President Trump pressured Europe to release an emergency quantity of diesel to help alleviate the U.S. market. It’s unclear how soon the benefits of that emergency diesel would be felt.
The cost of living crisis, paired with regional disruptions over immigration enforcement, also come as voters gear up for a critical midterm election in November and have been showing signs of frustration with economic policies.
Farmers feel the squeeze of diesel
Manuel Cunha, Jr., the long-standing president of the farm advocacy group Nisei Farmers League in Fresno, told KVPR’s Soreath Hok in a recent episode of Central Valley Daily that he is concerned the high cost of diesel will have an effect on next year’s crops.
“The demand for fuel in agriculture is large. What farmers are doing right now, the cost is so high, they’re cutting back on various cultural activities.” Cunha, Jr. said.
Farmers in the Central Valley depend on diesel gas to keep their tractors and other farm equipment running as well as to ship goods across the state and country. They were already feeling the squeeze of tariffs.
Cunha, Jr. said a friend of his recently had to deliver a truck load of goods to New York.
“He has two diesel tanks on each side of the truck, 150-gallon tanks, and he paid $1,255 a tank,” he said.
It’s not clear how much higher diesel prices will climb, but farmers are running out of options altogether.
“The industries and the truckers and the farmers are getting tired, and when we get to this level, it's out of our hands,” he said.
Randy Villegas, a Democrat who is running for Congress in House District 22 against incumbent Republican David Valadao, spoke outside a Bakersfield gas station on Thursday where prices for gas were close to $7 for unleaded fuel and over $8 for diesel.
He said he was against the war in Iran, which is contributing to the rising prices, but also called on state and federal legislators to find solutions domestically to bring down prices – including by bringing down federal gas taxes.
“When we look at the federal gas and diesel tax, that is 18 cents for the gas, 24 cents for diesel, and that adds up for truck drivers who are spending $1,200 to fill up their tanks,” he said.
Immigration sweeps in Fresno County add to farming concerns
Immigration agents have been sweeping through Fresno County in recent days, appearing to detain farmworkers along rural roads and others driving along busy city streets.
Community-reported incidents of immigration agents conducting traffic stops in Fresno County have sent shock through the community. The sweeps come as farmers gear up to finish harvest for most crops in the Valley.
In a statement on Thursday, the Nisei Farmers League also called on ICE to respect “the rights of farmers, farmworkers and communities.”
Cunha, Jr., the president of the league, said he was concerned about the reports that immigration agents have entered agricultural fields on privately owned land to question farmworkers about their immigration status.
“This disruption is causing great harm to families and businesses. Parents are not sending their children to school, receiving medical needs for their family members, or even going to stores to get food. These are not criminals. They are hardworking individuals in our communities,” Cunha, Jr. said in a statement.
CNN reported that ICE leaders have instructed agents in recent days to return to a mandate of detaining 3,000 people a day, while an ICE spokesperson told the news outlet there are “no quotas.”
Cunha, in a statement through the Nisei Farmers League, said immigration agents would be active for 45 days in California.
Immigrant advocates say several people have been detained since at least Oct. 1st in and around Fresno – though the exact total is unclear.
'Higher than normal absences' at workplaces
Images shared to social media have shown immigration enforcement agents apprehending people in their cars along farms in Fresno County. Other footage shows agents along city streets.
The nonprofit Faith in the Valley says a van carrying workers from Selma to Bakersfield was stopped earlier this week and all onboard were detained.
Others have reported sighting immigration agents and arrests in Fresno, Mendota, Kerman and Madera.
All of this is reminiscent of January 2025, agents from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol launched a surprise raid in Kern County that also shook the region and led to protests.
In recent days, some mayors in Fresno County, including conservative mayors, have called for residents to remain calm and exercise their rights. Concerned citizens held a small vigil Wednesday night for dozens of people outside an ICE facility in downtown Fresno.
Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez said employers at food plants, processing facilities and small businesses have reported “higher-than-normal” absences at work sites in recent days, and said random immigration raids hurt the community.
“Our immigrant families are an essential part of Fresno County,” Chavez said. “They are our neighbors, our coworkers and our families. They contribute every day to the strength of this community, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”
