After taking criticism for supposedly not supporting immigrants enough, two Central Valley Democratic congressmembers are returning fire.

Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias blasted representatives Jim Costa, D-Fresno, Adam Gray, D-Merced, and David Valadao, R-Kings County, at Thursday’s council meeting.

Arias, also a Democrat, mentioned a peaceful immigration rally in Fresno last Monday and thanked some of his colleagues for attending.

Then he turned his attention to the Central Valley’s House delegation.

“I am disappointed in our federal representation as the ICE forces are terrorizing and terrifying our immigrant community at their job sites, at school graduations. at community centers. You have Congressman Valadao negotiating how severe the cuts to Medicare are gonna be to our vulnerable families in the Valley. You have Representative Gray announcing legislation to protect water instead of residents,” Arias said.

Earlier in the week, Gray introduced the Valley Water Protection Act.

“I will not apologize for standing up for the needs of our Valley community,” Gray said in an email to Politics 101.

“If Councilman Arias want to spew misinformation and blatant lies about my record or what’s going on here, maybe he should join Kristi Noem’s press team. I hear they might be looking for folks who have a flexible relationship with the truth.”

Noem is the secretary of Homeland Security.

Gray said he, too, has supported pro-immigrant bills, the same as Costa mentioned, as well as the American Dream and Promise Act. He also said that he’s fought back against the GOP narrative about undocumented immigrants.

“Each time we’ve voted on these measures, I’ve called on my Republican colleagues to address our larger immigration system and the need to protect the vast majority of undocumented immigrants who work hard, take care of their families, and follow our laws,” Gray said.

“Go back through my public comments and legislative record since January, and you’ll see that I’ve been working to protect and support law-abiding, hardworking immigrants — the backbone of the Valley— since day one,” Gray said.

Costa Responds

Arias also criticized Costa.

“You have my own Congressman Jim Costa attending baseball games with a congressional delegation instead of standing with the residents that voted him,” Arias said.

Responded Costa in an email to Politics 101: “From the start, I’ve pushed to hold this administration accountable from targeting innocent, hardworking families, including those I represent here in the Valley. When President Trump pushed to let federal agencies weaponize taxpayer data to track undocumented immigrants, I signed an amicus brief to challenge it.”

Costa said he supported legislation such as the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and Dream and Promise Act.

“I’ll keep fighting to fix our broken immigration system and hold President Trump accountable for his abuse of power, because defending our values and protecting the people of our Valley has always been my first priority,” Costa said.

Had a great time at the Congressional Baseball game with our fantastic D.C. interns!

Always a fun night in Washington – supporting local charities and cheering on colleagues. ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/yQ9phRj9qI

— Rep. Jim Costa (@RepJimCosta) June 12, 2025

Arias also made controversial statements about a potential immigration raid at a Fresno County swap meet on Saturday without revealing the source of his claim.

Valadao’s office did not respond before publication of this story.

A New City Council Entrant

Rene Campos filed paperwork to run for Fresno City Council District 7. He said jail reform is his motivating factor. He knows from personal experience.

Campos, 41, is a registered sex offender according to public records after a 2018 arrest for possession of obscene matter depicting a minor in sexual conduct. He was sentenced in 2021 to two years formal probation, court records show.

He said he was dating someone “who took advantage of me during an illness and were using my property for illicit material.”

Last month, Campos appeared in court for failing to register as a sex offender. He said he missed his meeting because of a car accident and became sick.

“This system tends to punish people when they’re in certain medical conditions. What they call justice, I call torture. When I was in there, 157 medical calls were denied. After slamming my face after four seizures on the floor, I was told to shut the hell up,” Campos said.

Campos said he wants to “shine light on the system.” Even though jails are under the administration of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, Campos believes the city council has oversight function.

“People need to see they’re enslaved by this system. It’s not just the jail. It’s the entire system, which is why I’m shining light on everything, not just the jail. I plan on bringing light everywhere,” Campos said.

Campos worked as a manager in fast food and hopes to one day open his own franchise. He recently filed a class action lawsuit against his former employer, Wendy’s of Fresno, Inc., for several labor violations. The company denied the allegations in court filings. The case is ongoing.

He once filed a small claims court suit against the city of Fresno for having his vehicle towed. A judge sided with the city.

Three other candidates have filed to run — businessman AJ Rassamni; public affairs consultant Navkaran Gurm; and community activist Ariana Martinez Lott.

The primary election is June 2, 2026.

Local Dems on Padilla Incident

Local Democrats are standing with Alex Padilla, after California’s U.S. Senator was escorted out, handcuffed, and briefly detained from a Homeland Security news conference.

Mike Karbassi, Fresno City Council president, said a word from the dais on Thursday. He called it “difficult to watch.”

“People have First Amendment rights, especially if you’re a Senator. And for them to say, we didn’t know who he was, he wasn’t wearing his pin or his badge? If the Department of Homeland Security doesn’t know who the 100 U.S. Senators are, then my goodness, we’re in a lot of trouble, aren’t we?”

Karbassi said crashing a news conference is not his method, “the fact of the matter is, that was his decision to make. And he chose to attend and expresses his opinion. The idea they’re trying to characterize him as being violent and lunging is totally inappropriate, and to treat our senator that way, and I would say this no matter what the party is, is really disgusting.”

The Fresno County Democratic Party said it was “outraged by the treatment.”

“We stand by Alex Padilla and everyone he looked to represent when he demanded answers from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem,” the local Dems said.