SELMA – Where rows of vendors would usually stand, empty spots now sit. Walkways once crowded now see the occasional shopper breeze by. A market once blasted with music is now scored mostly by freeway sounds.
This is the reality that some guests and vendors of the Selma Flea Market have begun to notice.
According to vendors of the market, attendance has been unusually low in recent months, with even the number of vendors beginning to dwindle. What these vendors have heard from remaining customers is that there seems to be one major reason for this decline: fear of ICE raids.
“I have heard from a lot of customers that a lot of it has to do with the whole immigration scare,” said Zuly Villegas, who operates GZ’s Fashion at the Selma Flea Market. “I’ve even had some tell me that they’ll have family members scope it out first, make sure nobody’s here, then give them a call to come out.”
For years, flea markets like the one in Selma have served as a cultural hub for the Hispanic and Latinx communities, offering a morning filled with food, music and shopping. With constant news of ICE deportations and mass detentions this past year, however, it’s easy to see how affected communities can fear going out.
According to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations statistics, there have been 26,606 arrests and 66,886 detentions reported for the fiscal year of 2025, which runs from Oct. 1 of last year to Sept. 30 of this year. Seemingly every day, social media posts are reporting ICE sightings and arrests across the country, creating a sense of fear of where they might show up next.
“On social media they were posting that ICE raids were going to happen in Fresno and at the Selma Flea Market, so a lot of people just stopped showing up,” said Freddy Mendoza, owner of Lana Shades.
Villegas also cited Fresno Councilmember Miguel Arias’ warning to Cherry Avenue Auction shoppers at the June 12 Fresno City Council meeting as a reason for the decline in attendance. Although no ICE presence was ever detected at the market, the warning served as a reminder that the possibility remains.
“A lot of people are scared, which is understandable. We’ve never seen (ICE) here, just occasionally police who are here on their lunch break or have been called,” Villegas said.
Villegas also noted that the Selma Flea Market takes place on private property, and thus, the property owners would not allow ICE agents in without a warrant. The Mid Valley Times sought out the owners of the property to confirm this, but received no response as of press time.
Although fear is running rampant in the Valley, Kingsburg Police Department (KPD), who holds jurisdiction over the Selma Flea Market, reports no ICE activity in the area.
“We have certain state mandates that we have to abide by, but we’ve got zero contact at all with any ICE stuff in the area,” said Sergeant Forlines of the KPD. “We’ve never gotten any reports of anything, and we’ve never had anything that we’ve ever given to ICE or shared with ICE, or anything like that.”
While vendors understand the fear and empathize with the fear of raids and deportation, it doesn’t make the hit to business any less impactful.
Mendoza stated that before the decline in vendor and guest attendance, he would make $300 at the Sunday market. Recently, he’s been making anywhere between $20-40. After the costs of getting a space at the market and driving from Tulare, he’s either barely breaking even or losing money each week.
While sales have been more rough than they’re used to, Villegas and Mendoza maintain hope that things can get better and eventually return to normal. Villegas maintains that those who are afraid should feel more than welcome sending someone to shop for them, and Mendoza feels that the strength of the market’s community will keep it going.
“I just want to say to the vendors to not lose hope and to stay positive. Times are tough right now, but if we stick together and keep showing up for our community, better days will come,” Mendoza said.
