US Midterms 2026: California Race Rocked by Immigration Raids

BAKERSFIELD, California – In a small parking lot in Bakersfield, a memorial of orange marigolds and prayer candles has been set up to honor Dolores Huerta, the labor organizer and civil rights leader who recently died. Huerta was a familiar figure in California's Central Valley, where she helped found the United Farm Workers (UFW) and fought for better wages and working conditions for immigrant and Latino laborers — the backbone of the state's large-scale agriculture in the 1960s and 1970s.

The slogan "Si, se puede" (Yes, it can be done), coined by Huerta, was also projected onto a screen at a local theater in her honor. If Huerta embodied a tradition of fighting for social and economic justice and labor organizing that still resonates, the surge in immigration raids across the valley over the past month shows that insecurity — both economic and political — remains a persistent reality for many farmworkers in the region.

Since early October, federal immigration agents, often masked and traveling in unmarked vehicles, have fanned out across the Central Valley as part of the Trump administration's 45-day "Operation Save California." The raids, part of a mass deportation campaign, have become a flashpoint in the race for California's 22nd congressional district — one of several contests Democrats hope will help them win back a majority in the US House in the November 3 midterms.

Although Republican incumbent David Valadao has deep roots in the Central Valley and has won six of his last seven races, progressive challenger Randy Villegas is seeking to tap voter frustration over the rising cost of living, cuts to health care budgets and the immigration raids.

In a small house not far from Huerta's memorial in Bakersfield, the day before the election, a room packed with volunteers chanted her slogan, cheered on by labor leaders and Democratic lawmakers including California Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, before they set out to knock on doors.

"I've talked to local business owners who say their businesses are struggling because of ICE raids, and many have switched to grocery delivery," Villegas told Al Jazeera, adding that some residents are afraid to leave their homes amid the heightened enforcement. "It affects people who just want to go to work, who want to go to school."

'Unlawfully targeted'

Immigration officials insist the raids target criminals and reject accusations of racism. "Allegations that DHS law enforcement is racist are disgusting, reckless and flat-out WRONG," the US Department of Homeland Security said in an email. "What makes someone a target of immigration enforcement is being in the US illegally — NOT their skin color, race or ethnicity."

Yet the administration's description of operations aimed at people with serious criminal records contrasts with accounts from farmworkers, labor groups, local officials and advocacy organizations, who describe heavy-handed tactics and a "dragnet" approach.

"These are not criminals. These are hardworking, long-established members of our communities who are being unlawfully targeted simply for looking Latino and working class," UFW President Teresa Romero said in an October 10 statement. "We are seeing car windows smashed and farmworkers pulled from their vehicles in the middle of the road on their way to work."

A woman who spoke on condition of anonymity told Al Jazeera by phone that her husband, a farmworker in Fresno County, was detained by immigration agents on his way home from work in the first week of October. "I understand that if they [those detained] are criminals or have done something wrong, they brought it on themselves," the woman said. "But my husband did nothing. All he did was go to work."

She said her four US-born children have become anxious since the incident, with some bursting into tears at the sound of a knock at the door, afraid their mother would be taken away too.

'Rumors spread fast'

Local officials say such stories have spread throughout the community. "When you're in a small community like ours and someone is actually detained, rumors spread very fast," said Olivia Calderon, mayor of the city of Arvin. "I've been asked by pastors whether ICE takes Sundays off, because people don't want to go to church."

Villegas links the raids to Valadao's vote for a bill that would make ICE — an agency frequently accused of excessive force and disregard for civil liberties — the most heavily funded law enforcement agency in the country. Asked about the impact of the raids in an October debate with Villegas, Valadao repeated the government's argument that many of those targeted have criminal records and that "it is what it is."

As Republicans and Democrats battle for control of the House, the race has also drawn national attention. Prominent figures including left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson have campaigned for candidates in recent months. Labor groups such as the UFW have also mobilized members to knock doors for Villegas.

But polls show the race between Valadao and Villegas remains tight, even after California voters approved a 2025 redistricting measure that created new maps, including part of the 22nd district, designed to favor Democrats.

Valadao has proven a difficult candidate to beat. Growing up in the Central Valley, where his Portuguese parents settled and ran a dairy farm, has helped him build close ties with ranchers, growers and influential conservative voters in the region. While California is broadly a Democratic stronghold, rural areas often favor Republicans.

While Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris won California over Donald Trump by nearly 20 points in 2024, Trump carried Kern County — home to Bakersfield — by a similar margin.

Still, Villegas and his supporters hope concerns over the rising cost of living — driven in part by the Trump administration's decision to launch a war with Iran, which sent energy prices soaring — will help him unseat the Republican incumbent.

Priscilla Ortega, 23, who lives in the city of Lamont, said she is "uncomfortable and very angry" about rising prices and the impact of the immigration raids. "It really wasn't necessary," she said of the war with Iran, adding that higher fuel costs have made commuting to her warehouse job in the area far more expensive. "That money could have gone to buying food for my family or paying bills. People are fed up with rising prices."