Farm worker dead from injuries during cannabis farm ICE raid

(NewsNation) — The United Farm Workers confirms that a farm worker has died from injuries suffered during an immigration raid at two Southern California cannabis farms.

The United Farm Workers union said the worker died after reportedly falling several stories from a greenhouse at the farm in Camarillo. UFW official Elizabeth Strater told the Los Angeles Times the worker was taken away by ambulance and was later confirmed dead.

The raids on Thursday resulted in 200 arrests as well as drawing several hundred protesters, leading to clashes with officers. A raid at one farm stretched into the night, part of a coordinated operation headed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Glass House Farms, which operates two massive cannabis growing facilities, was raided by ICE officers. Among those taken into custody, according to Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Rodney Scott, were 10 minors, eight of them in the country illegally after entering as unaccompanied minors.

In a statement, the United Farm Workers condemned the raids. It said farm workers were critically injured during the raids, and some, including U.S. citizens, remain unaccounted for.

“Our staff is on the ground supporting families. Many workers, including US citizens, were held by federal authorities at the farm for 8 hours or more. US citizen workers report only being released after they were forced to delete photos and videos of the raid from their phones,” the union said.

Undocumented minors found in raid at cannabis farm

The UFW is also demanding independent legal representation for minor workers and noted that farm workers are excluded from basic child labor laws.

“It is unfortunately not uncommon for teenagers to work in the fields. To be clear: detaining and deporting children is not a solution for child labor,” the group said.

As word of the operation spread, activists and protesters descended on one location northwest of Los Angeles.

Glass House Farms bills itself as the largest cannabis operation in the world. On Thursday morning, convoys of military and immigration enforcement vehicles arrived at the farm, taking dozens of workers into custody. Many were lined up and guarded outside the building before being taken away.

Clashes between protesters and federal officials got violent at times, with officers deploying tear gas, flash bang grenades and non-lethal rounds. Dozens of protesters were arrested.

One protester appeared to open fire at federal agents with a handgun in a video posted on X. The FBI is now offering a $50,000 reward for his capture and conviction.

“They can protest all they want, but if they cross the line, they’re going to be arrested and they’re going to be prosecuted,” said border czar Tom Homan. “There’s zero tolerance. They have the First Amendment rights, I had 1,000 protesters at my house, whatever. You’re not going to stop me. I’m not going to shut up, [I’ll] keep doing what I’m doing. But you can’t cross that line.”

A second raid took place simultaneously at another Glass House location about 35 miles away in Santa Barbara County. It’s not yet known how may people were taken into custody but the numer is said to be in the dozens.

That operation took about a month to plan, Department of Homeland Security sources told NewsNation, which is typical for an operation of that size.

Officials will not go in without some sort of guidance or plan, and NewsNation was present as hundreds of law enforcement and military personnel gathered to be briefed on a mission weeks ago to dismantle three illegal marijuana grow operations on federal land.

Operations may be led by ICE, Homeland Security or the Drug Enforcement Agency. During briefings, each teams are told what they would be doing and where they would be working, along with contingency plans if things go south.

Operations focused on dismantling illegal cannabis operations are now also anticipating encountering people who are working illegally.

“So what we know is that crime follows crime,” said DEA Agent Anthony Chrysanthis. “In order to get these criminal grows productive, they have to reach out ot undocumented workers to get it done. A lot of times, when these workers are trafficked in here, they’re basically held hostage against their will. They have to work off whatever it cost to get them here and so they’re detained and we find them in places where they can’t escape.”

During a previous raid in Riverside County, officials arrested around 70 undocumented individuals who they say were working there illegally.

The DEA and federal partners executed search warrants at different locations, which covered 787 acres. Two people were actually found inside a trailer with padlocks inside and outside. Agents actually had to break through those, showing that some of the people were working there against their will.

One person arrested was a U.S. citizen who was taken in for impeding or attempting to impede operations.