Another fake ICE scare stokes fear in Paso Robles

July 21, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

The California Mid-State Fair is in full swing, though the number of Hispanics attending a concert in Spanish was dismal after another fake ICE scare in Paso Robles stoked fear and panic within the city’s immigrant communities.

On Friday, the misinformation campaign started after someone spotted several large white vans, the type ICE used in the raids on cannabis farms in Carpinteria and Camarillo, with U.S. government license plates at the Courtyard Marriott in Paso Robles. A local group, 805 UndocuFund, posted a warning on social media that ICE agents were at the hotel.

Someone also posted a handmade sign at the Courtyard Marriott’s entrance, “ICE is staying at this hotel.” Angry callers contacted the hotel while people drove through the parking lot honking their horns.

Tom Fulks, the San Luis Obispo County Democratic Party chair, posted a warning on his Facebook page: “Apparently the bounty hunters have been in Paso for a few days, just in time to body snatch from the Mid-State Fair.”

CalCoastNews investigated the warnings and found that the U.S. Government license plates on the vans and several other vehicles parked in the hotel parking lot also included “Navy” stickers. Men leaving the vehicles explained they were members of the Navy in the area for training.

Hotel staff said military service men and women regularly stay at the hotel while in the area. The Navy transports the trainees in the white and silver vans to local sites.

A headline show at the Mid-State Fair on Sunday featured an electric lineup of regional Mexican favorites: El Mexicano, Arkangel R-15, and Ezequiel Peña Jr. y Su Vallarta. In prior years, about 5,000 tickets are generally pre-sold for the annual Spanish language concert. However, amid the online misinformation campaign, the fair pre-sold approximately 900 tickets for this year’s event.

Because we believe the public needs the facts, the truth, CalCoastNews has not put up a paywall because it limits readership. However, we are seeking qualification as a paper of record, which will allow us to publish public notices, but it requires 5,000 paid subscribers.

Your subscription will help us to continue investigating and reporting the news.

Support CalCoastNews, subscribe today, click here.