Worker Killed, Hundreds Arrested During ICE Raids on California Cannabis Farms

One farm worker has died and 361 were reportedly detained following ICE
immigration raids last week at two cannabis farms in southern California,
the LA Times reports.

The July 10 raids were carried out by federal immigration agents at
cannabis grows operated by Glass House Farms — the state’s largest licensed
cannabis producer — in Camarillo and Carpinteria.

During the chaos of the Camarillo raid, 57-year-old Jaime Alanís Garcia
fell 30 feet through a greenhouse roof while fleeing federal agents,
sustaining fatal injuries, his family said in a statement on Saturday.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that federal agents
detained 361 unlawful immigrants and also discovered 14 minors during the
raids, which has prompted an investigation into Glass House Farms for
potential child labor violations.

“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and
does not and has never employed minors,” the company said in a statement
issued following the raids.

Meanwhile, protestors sought to disrupt the raids at both locations, and
DHS officials said four U.S. citizens were arrested for allegedly
assaulting or resisting officers.

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward “for information leading to the
conviction of an Unknown Subject who appeared to fire a pistol at Federal
Law Enforcement Officers near Camarillo,” United States Attorney Bill
Essayli tweeted on July 10, although no gunshot injuries have been reported.