Councilmember Miguel Arias faces criticism from vendors after claims of ICE raid at popular auction

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- There was outrage astatine Fresno City Hall connected Thursday arsenic nutrient vendor Susana Osuna called retired Councilmember Miguel Arias.

"I'm going to fto you cognize (that) we're coming successful blistery and angry," she said.

Arias warned, without providing evidence, of a raid astatine the Cherry Auction past month.

"We person learned this play ICE is readying to prosecute successful a monolithic migration raid astatine the Cherry Auction successful Fresno," Arias said astatine a assembly gathering connected June 12.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Fresno City councilmember shares unverified claims of imaginable ICE raid

But that "massive" raid ne'er happened. There were nary signs that ICE had shown up oregon had ever been to the auction.

The Cherry Auction is successful the County of Fresno, not the metropolis oregon Councilmember Arias' district.

"We are dormant successful the water," Osuna said. "There's nary business. Customers are afraid. Vendors are afraid."

Osuna placed the blasted squarely connected Arias.

"The markets were safe, (and) radical were not acrophobic until helium caused this panic," she said.

But arsenic Osuna spoke, Councilmember Arias was not there. He did not be Thursday's meeting.

"I don't cognize what to marque of it," Osuna told Action News. "They didn't accidental wherefore helium wasn't here. I've made interviews successful the past mates of days, and they've asked maine if I was going to travel to the Council meeting, and I've said, 'Yes,' truthful possibly that was it. I don't know."

Arias has refused to uncover the root of his claims and did not reply the question erstwhile Action News called him connected Thursday.

He said, instead, that his informing "averted a wide migration raid successful our community" and added that helium has not called for radical not to spell to the Cherry Auction.

Some vendors are present asking Council President Mike Karbassi to request that Arias resign.

"I americium good wrong my rights to personally disagree with definite comments that were made by 1 of my assembly colleagues," Karbassi said astatine the assembly gathering connected Thursday. "I am, however, without authorization to independently authorisation oregon bounds 1 of my colleagues' quality to marque statements from this dais."

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