This story was originally published by Fresnoland.
More than a week has passed since the Fresno City Council preliminarily approved an ordinance that would fine neighboring jurisdictions for dropping off unhoused people in Fresno.
But the elected leaders behind the new policy still haven’t shared with the public any evidence of that happening, or specific details about past instances.
Fresno City Council President Mike Karbassi, a co-sponsor of the city ordinance, clarified to Fresnoland that he thinks jurisdictions outside Fresno County are dropping off unhoused people inside city limits — referring to it as “municipal human trafficking.”
In a brief interview, Karbassi stopped short of naming any cities dropping off their unhoused population in Fresno. He also said he couldn’t comment on whether he has seen any evidence of it personally.
“I don’t think there’s any other cities in the county doing this,” Karbassi told Fresnoland. “I know there’s rumors about that, started by politicians. I believe it’s out-of-county — that’s what I’m worried about.”
The ordinance would specifically crack down on public employees — including police officers — of neighboring jurisdictions who are caught taking unhoused people to Fresno and dropping them off there. The proposed city law has a number of exemptions, including taking unhoused people to court hearings or a social service provider.
If unhoused people are taken to a social service provider, the ordinance requires public employees to first verify there is space available for the unhoused people they are transporting. The exemptions appear to distinguish a public employee helping an unhoused person get homeless services from simply dropping them off on a street in Fresno.
Karbassi said the intent of the ordinance is to stop the latter from happening.
On top of the absence of proof from Fresno’s elected officials, local law enforcement confirmed to Fresnoland that they have no evidence that cities or police officers outside Fresno are transporting unhoused people to within city limits and dropping them off there.
“We had several reports of it, but the people reporting had no information that allowed for us to corroborate that information,” said Fresno Police Sgt. Diana Vega over email. She added that the Fresno Police Department is not actively investigating any related claims right now.
Additionally, Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni told Fresnoland that he hasn’t come across any evidence of it happening either.
On Thursday, the Fresno City Council will consider whether to adopt the new city ordinance in a second, final vote. If greenlit, the new law would charge violators with a misdemeanor and fine them $1,000 per unhoused person being transported.
While Karbassi has referred to it as ‘municipal human trafficking,’ the United States Department of Justice defines human trafficking as a “crime involving the exploitation of a person for labor, services, or commercial sex.”
Fresno City Attorney’s Office would enforce the ordinance
If the ordinance gets approved, Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz would be in charge of enforcing it, Karbassi said.
“Hopefully we have visual evidence of some kind, or testimonies from the individuals that are unhoused,” Karbassi said. “That’s a big one — where they came from, if they’re willing to provide that. Those leads need to be followed and if the city attorney feels there’s enough evidence, they would issue a court filing.”
The resources needed to investigate the violations of the ordinance, along with enforcing it, is unclear at the moment. If the ordinance is approved, it would signify another expansion of power for the Fresno City Attorney’s Office, which has grown considerably under Janz.
Arias clarifies statement about neighboring cities in Fresno County
Although Karbassi has said the issue is with jurisdictions outside Fresno County, City Council Vice President Miguel Arias said the problem is primarily inside the county.
At the last Fresno City Council meeting on Jan. 30, Arias said — without providing evidence — that law enforcement from Madera, Clovis, Kingsburg and Reedley have been taking unhoused people to Fresno and dropping them off within city limits for years.
City officials from Clovis, Kingsburg and Reedley acknowledged to Fresnoland that they have taken unhoused people to social services in Fresno, but denied the claim they have taken unhoused people to Fresno just to drop them off on the side of a street.
In an interview with Fresnoland, Arias clarified his comments.
He said his mention of Kingsburg and Reedley was strictly in reference to seeing police officers from both cities bringing unhoused people to a warming center in Fresno amid heavy rain in January and February 2023.
However, Arias said there is documentation of the other jurisdictions taking unhoused people to Fresno at a time when the region wasn’t facing harsh weather conditions.
Ty Wood, a spokesperson with the Clovis Police Department, confirmed an incident in 2024 when a Clovis police officer transported an unhoused person to the Fresno Mission after being requested to do so.
“It was unknown to our officer at that time that they must stay with the individual to ensure they are checked in,” Wood wrote via email. “That officer was spoken to, and no such incidents have occurred since.”
Arias, who is not an author of the proposed city ordinance set to be voted on this week, said he has reservations about it, specifically with how it penalizes public employees and police officers that he said are probably just following orders. He said penalizing other jurisdictions is not a good way to incentivize them to fund homeless services.
He added that the bigger issue is the lack of a regional approach to addressing homelessness. Arias said Fresno County needs to be doing more, and that it’s time it opens its first homeless shelter.
“I still don’t see how the County of over a million people has zero shelters,” Arias said. “I don’t see how they justify it. I am hopeful the new leadership will be different.”