Increased immigration enforcement in Sacramento is causing fear among Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, with many worried about deportation and its impact on their daily lives. Sydney Fang from AAPI FORCE-EF said, “We’re feeling the impacts of ICE terror, and that’s because all of our families all migrate to the United States, to California, under many different circumstances.”Asian Americans make up about 19% of Sacramento County’s population, and this year marks 50 years since Southeast Asian refugees first arrived in the U.S. Many now live in fear, worried that deportation could come without warning. Fang said, “We are getting stopped at the border and getting detained at the border. We’re getting detained in interactions with law enforcement and ICE check-ins.”According to a report by the Asian American and Pacific Islander Policy Initiative, ICE arrests of Asians tripled from 2024 to 2025, sparking alarm across the country, including in Sacramento. Fang added, “Our families are afraid to go to work, afraid to go to school, afraid to even go to their health appointments. People are canceling their doctor visits.”Fang added that refugees and Asian American and Pacific Islander immigrants are being targeted with less visible, smaller raids in garment and fashion wholesale shops, shopping centers, massage parlors, nail salons, nightclubs, restaurants and grocery stores across California. In the Sacramento region, advocates say, the arrests have been more targeted.Sacramento City Council Member Mai Vang highlighted the challenges faced by the Asian American community, noting that issues impacting communities of color and immigrants often overlook Asian Americans. “Oftentimes when there are issues that are impacting our communities of color, our immigrant community, you often don’t hear the harm or the issues impacting our Asian-American community, and a large part of that has to do with the model minority myth that Asian-Americans, immigrant and refugee communities are doing well,” Vang said. In response to the crackdown, more than 100 people gathered on Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil, showing solidarity and resistance. Vang, whose family came to the U.S. as Hmong refugees, said, “This fight is really personal for me as a daughter of Hmong refugees. I have family and loved ones who came here as refugees and got their Green Card revoked because of some poor decisions they made when they were very young.”In a climate of fear, communities are turning to trusted messengers for critical information rather than relying on social media or officials. “Recently, our office worked to actually host a Know Your Rights workshop. We didn’t put that on social media. We didn’t post it up. What we did was share that with our elders, share that with our community, and we had over 100 people show up without it being marketed through the social media mediums,” Vang said.The AAPI community has relaunched the “Pardon Refugees” campaign to fight for pardons for Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants facing deportation. A rally and press conference will be held tomorrow at L and 14th streets in downtown Sacramento.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Increased immigration enforcement in Sacramento is causing fear among Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, with many worried about deportation and its impact on their daily lives.

Sydney Fang from AAPI FORCE-EF said, “We’re feeling the impacts of ICE terror, and that’s because all of our families all migrate to the United States, to California, under many different circumstances.”

Asian Americans make up about 19% of Sacramento County’s population, and this year marks 50 years since Southeast Asian refugees first arrived in the U.S. Many now live in fear, worried that deportation could come without warning.

Fang said, “We are getting stopped at the border and getting detained at the border. We’re getting detained in interactions with law enforcement and ICE check-ins.”

According to a report by the Asian American and Pacific Islander Policy Initiative, ICE arrests of Asians tripled from 2024 to 2025, sparking alarm across the country, including in Sacramento. Fang added, “Our families are afraid to go to work, afraid to go to school, afraid to even go to their health appointments. People are canceling their doctor visits.”

Fang added that refugees and Asian American and Pacific Islander immigrants are being targeted with less visible, smaller raids in garment and fashion wholesale shops, shopping centers, massage parlors, nail salons, nightclubs, restaurants and grocery stores across California. In the Sacramento region, advocates say, the arrests have been more targeted.

Sacramento City Council Member Mai Vang highlighted the challenges faced by the Asian American community, noting that issues impacting communities of color and immigrants often overlook Asian Americans.

“Oftentimes when there are issues that are impacting our communities of color, our immigrant community, you often don’t hear the harm or the issues impacting our Asian-American community, and a large part of that has to do with the model minority myth that Asian-Americans, immigrant and refugee communities are doing well,” Vang said.

In response to the crackdown, more than 100 people gathered on Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil, showing solidarity and resistance.

Vang, whose family came to the U.S. as Hmong refugees, said, “This fight is really personal for me as a daughter of Hmong refugees. I have family and loved ones who came here as refugees and got their Green Card revoked because of some poor decisions they made when they were very young.”

In a climate of fear, communities are turning to trusted messengers for critical information rather than relying on social media or officials.

“Recently, our office worked to actually host a Know Your Rights workshop. We didn’t put that on social media. We didn’t post it up. What we did was share that with our elders, share that with our community, and we had over 100 people show up without it being marketed through the social media mediums,” Vang said.

The AAPI community has relaunched the “Pardon Refugees” campaign to fight for pardons for Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants facing deportation. A rally and press conference will be held tomorrow at L and 14th streets in downtown Sacramento.