ICE Reportedly Strikes Pedestrian in NorCal as Surge Continues Across State
By ACoM
Oct 21, 2026
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle reportedly hit a pedestrian Oct. 20 in Woodland, about 30 miles northwest of Sacramento, reports ChicoSol.
The rapid response network, NorCal Resist later posted a video showing the SUV striking the individual, Antonio Moreida, 37. Moreida told reporters he came to the area after hearing reports of ICE presence.
Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson, who represents some of Yolo County, said in a statement that he’s been in contact with law enforcement and that he’s been informed that “ICE was operating the vehicle in question and that an investigation is underway.”
“ICE cannot continue to terrorize our communities,” the congressman’s statement reads. “No one is above the law. ICE’s actions have contributed to growing distrust and fear within our communities, making transparency and accountability all the more critical. Members of our community need to feel safe.”
The Woodland Police Department, in a social media statement, said it was “aware of an incident” that occurred today at 9:38 a.m. near Locust and Clover streets “involving a pedestrian and a vehicle operated by federal immigration authorities.”
It added it is “actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
A NorCal Resist volunteer told ChicoSol that the incident was witnessed and filmed by someone in a neighborhood who emerged from their home because of street commotion. Neighbors were blowing whistles to alert the community to the presence of ICE.
The volunteer said that ICE sightings had been confirmed on “various streets” this morning in Woodland, and “people kept calling us and there were people following [ICE].”
“We think they’ve left [Woodland] because they haven’t been seen in over an hour,” said the volunteer, who asked not to be identified, early this afternoon.
ChicoSol has emailed ICE asking for comment but has not yet received a response. In a statement issued Wednesday, the agency claimed Moreida “jumped onto the hood” of the oncoming vehicle, accusing him of “flopping for the camera.”
Speaking to reporters, Woodland Mayor Tom Stallard said, “I’m beyond anger. I’m at the point of outrage… realizing that people in our community are living in fear because of this effort by ICE to do whatever objective they’re trying to do. But doing it in the most hateful, mean, incomprehensible method.”
The incident occurred days after another ICE vehicle in Long Beach, California, some 400 miles to the south, appeared to strike a cyclist before agents emerged from the vehicle.
Reports say the agents proceeded to tase and then handcuff the individual, identified as Ricardo Gonzalez, a former city employee and U.S. citizen. In a statement, ICE later said Gonzalez “smashed the mirror of a government vehicle” though video of the incident appears to contradict that statement.
In a post on the social media platform X, Congressman Robert Garcia, a Democrat who represents the city of Long Beach, called for ICE to be abolished, saying Gonzalez was “brutally attacked.”
Both incidents come following ICE’s launch of “Operation Safe California” earlier this month.
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an Oct. 9 alert about what might be a 45-day operation, which reporting suggests has already resulted in up to 200 people arrested across the state, including in the Central Valley, where indiscriminate traffic stops and workplace raids by ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents have stoked “profound panic,” according to the Spanish language newspaper El Popular in Bakersfield.
“In one high-profile incident early in the crackdown, a van transporting farmworkers … was stopped, resulting in the arrest of everyone on board,” the paper notes, citing United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, who called the operation a “terrorist campaign.”
ICE’s increased presence across California comes just weeks ahead of the Nov. 3 mid-term elections, fueling fears that the Trump administration will attempt to deploy federal immigration agents at polling stations as part of what critics say is an effort to intimidate voters.
In Santa Maria, California, just north of Santa Barbara, organizers including the League of Women Voters are working to train volunteer observers at polling stations in “anticipation of voter intimidation efforts,” says Claudia Caceres of Tu Tiempo Digital.
She added organizers are urging voters to send in their ballots as early as possible by mail or at local drop boxes and that additional virtual trainings are being organized to prepare residents in case of ICE encounters on or before election day.
ChicoSol reports that ICE agents were seen on Oct. 19 at the Sutter County Veterans Hall in Yuba City, a location that the county clerk-recorder’s office lists as an Election Day polling place.
It’s unclear what immigration agents were doing at the Yuba City Veterans Hall or whether there were detentions.
They have not been seen since, according to NorCal Resist. One observer with the group identified three vehicles that were used previously during “verified immigration enforcement actions” in the North State. The observer reported seeing armed uniformed agents wearing masks and bulletproof vests labeled “ERO” — which stands for Enforcement and Removal Operations — and badges labeled “ICE.”
California recently passed legislation aimed at curtailing voter intimidation and preventing interference by outside agencies. These include SB 73, which prohibits military personnel at polling locations and makes seizing ballots a felony. SB 884, meanwhile, bars arrests within 200 feet of a polling site on election day except in extreme cases.
An earlier version of this story was first published by ChicoSol. This story was produced as part of “Aquí Estamos/Here We Stand,” a collaborative reporting project of American Community Media and community news outlets statewide.
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