Miguel Arias repeatedly dodged questions Monday about an ICE raid he said would happen at a Fresno-area swap meet but didn’t materialize.

No immigration enforcement raids took place at the Cherry Avenue Auction swap meet over the weekend. Arias, a Fresno city councilmember, announced the warning at last week’s council meeting. ICE didn’t confirm or deny an impending raid to GV Wire after Arias made his warning.

“I refer you to ICE,” Arias said six times in a row when asked by GV Wire on Monday. Arias would not talk about how he learned of an impending raid or why he said so publicly.

ICE did not respond to a GV Wire inquiry on Monday.

At an anti-ICE rally in Fresno last week, advocates said unverified reports of ICE raids cause panic and anxiety in the community.

“What caused this panic is the Trump administration violating the constitutional rights of due process for residents of our state. The Trump administration, the donors of the Trump administration, and those who voted for Trump presidency put folks at risk,” Arias said.

Related Story: Fresno Councilmember Warns of Possible ICE Raid at Popular Outdoor Market

Business Drops at Swap Meet

Cherry Avenue Auction operator Neil Burson said business was down significantly.

Asked why he thought Arias made the public comments, Burson said “because there was a TV camera around … Apparently he has got other knowledge. That is between him and law enforcement.”

Burson called what happened this past weekend “unfortunate.”

“We’re going to stay open and provide for our customers,” Burson said.

Arias Claims Success on Social Media

Arias posted about the raid not occurring on his Facebook page.

“I want to thank our immigrant community for exercising precaution today, as a result, the planned ICE raid did not take place, making our community safer,” Arias posted Saturday at 10:45 a.m. on Facebook.

He encouraged readers to share their knowledge about ICE activities, saying it was the best way to keep the community safe.

On the same day as the non-raid, thousands gathered at several Fresno locations to protest the Trump administration.

Related Story: Fresno Protesters Rally Against Trump Administration on ‘No Kings ...

Law Enforcement Union Critical

Eric Schmidt, president of the Fresno Deputy Sheriff’s Association union, criticized Arias for making a claim of a raid before it may have happened.

“The safety of law-enforcement officers who are participating in one of those types of operations are at risk,” Schmidt said, especially if information revealed is about a search warrant.

Schmidt did not know where Arias would get such information. ICE does not typically share news of impending raids with local law enforcement, he said.

“The information should be accurate if somebody’s going to put that out. But again, whatever was put out the other day never happened. It’s not in the best interest of the public to be saying things like that,” Schmidt said.

Related Story: Tensions Boil Between Arias and Dem Congressmembers

Sheriff: We Are Not Notified

The Cherry Avenue Auction is located at Cherry and American avenues, just outside the Fresno city limits.

The sheriff’s office said it did not have any information about a pending raid there.

Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni said federal law enforcement does not notify him about immigration operations.

“They have jurisdiction in Fresno County to conduct law enforcement actions and notifying us is not required,” Zanoni said. “It is actually beneficial in that it protects us from being accused of working with ICE, which could result in a violation of current state law.”

Zanoni encouraged the public not to spread messages about impending raids.

“One, it puts officers’ safety in jeopardy. Two, it can create panic and fear mongering by spreading false information,” Zanoni said.

“Arias obviously needs to get better sources, since he was wrong,” sheriff’s spokesperson Tony Botti said.

What Arias Said Last Week

Last week, Univision 21 asked Arias who notified him about the impending raid.

“We have enough information that we know that they are planning an operation,” Arias said during the interview conducted in Spanish and translated through Google technology.

“We know, for months now, the Department of Immigration has made it very clear that they won’t give us any information, so go ahead. They’ll never confirm, to the point, that they’ll be in a community, but now we have enough information indicating that they plan to be in our community. They’ll be there this weekend,” Arias said.

Arias said he had the information for “at least 24 hours” before he announced it.

When asked directly who revealed the information, Arias responded “Look, in the past, many presidents have had a very clear process. When ICE was going to conduct an operation in a community, it would notify the local government. Under this president, they haven’t done this. They’ve made it very clear: They go into the community, arrest people in violation of their rights, and we’re left picking up the pieces. So, for me personally, to the extent that I have enough information to notify the public, we’re doing it.”