Border Patrol agents on the scene of a gas station in Kern County. Screen grab via San Joaquin Valley Transparency YouTube channel

Recent reports of Customs and Border Protection officers conducting operations in Kern County has social media rife with posts about targeted raids on the local immigrant community.

Several videos uploaded to social platforms including X, YouTube and TikTok shows several Border Protection agents at Chevron gas station off of Seventh Street and Highway 65 in Bakersfield detaining and questioning people.

Another video shows a Border Protection truck on a traffic stop on the side of a highway, with an agent placing a handcuffed person in the back of their vehicle.

Some social media posts suggested there are U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids occurring in Kern County.

In February 2018, ICE was behind a serious of sweeps in the Fresno area that led to 232 arrests, including of farmworkers. At the time, farm laborers reported driving alternate routes to avoid main highways.

A spokesperson for ICE said the agency was not involved in the Kern County operation Tuesday.

Manuel Cunha Jr., president of the Fresno-based Nisei Farmer League, said there were some arrests made by Border Protection agents in Kern County. He said the operation involved drug trafficking and was not targeted towards migrants.

A statement from a Border Protection spokesperson said, “The U.S. Border Patrol conducts targeted enforcement arrests of individuals involved in smuggling throughout our areas of operation as part of our efforts to dismantle transnational criminal organizations.”

A post from the Dolores Huerta Foundation on their Instagram page said they “want to inform our community that Border Patrol agents are currently present throughout Kern County, with reports of activity at shopping centers, gas stations, and other public areas in Bakersfield, Arvin, and surrounding areas.”