Federal officials announce 200 workers arrested in Carpinteria, Camarillo farm raids
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
About 200 swept up in farm raids near Camarillo, Carpinteria; FBI seeks alleged gunman
A federal immigration sweep at a Ventura County farm sparked a chaotic confrontation. The hours-long raid was one of the largest in Ventura County’s recent history. “A lot of people here are scared,” said Alyssa Caro, a 20-year-old Oxnard resident. The Department of Homeland Security said around 200 people were arrested when federal law enforcement officers executed criminal warrants at the farm near Camarillo and another in Carpinteria. The agency said they were undocumented, and also reported officers found “at least 10 migrant children” at the sites, according to a statement released July 11. The company received immigration and naturalization warrants, verified they were valid and complied, company officials said in a social media post on July 10. “I can’t believe this happened,” said Gia Zelaya, who spent hours at the protest the day before. “These violent and cruel actions threaten the American food supply chain, threaten the lives and lives and separate families,” United Farm Workers president said.
Cracked pepper balls interspersed spent smoke canisters. Empty milk bottles — possibly used by protesters to counteract chemical fumes — sat feet away from torn military ration packaging July 11.
Oxnard resident Gia Zelaya combed the debris, collecting mementos into a black plastic bag.
“I can’t believe this happened,” said Zelaya, who spent hours at the protest the day before.
A bleary-eyed crowd of farmworker families waited July 11 outside the gate of Glass House Farms a few hundred yards up the agricultural road outside Camarillo. Some hoped to gather the belongings their detained loved ones could not.
“A lot of people here are scared,” said Alyssa Caro, a 20-year-old Oxnard resident whose mother, an undocumented farmworker, was detained by federal immigration agents during the raid. “It’s so close to home.”
Federal immigration agents descended on the greenhouse complex — one of the state’s largest cannabis farms — on the morning of July 10, blocking off Laguna Road and clashing with protesters. The confrontation rattled on until after dark as federal agents detained workers on the farm.
The hours-long raid was one of the largest in Ventura County’s recent history, even after months of increased deportation efforts by the Trump administration across the state and country. United Farm Workers reported at least one death as a result of the enforcement action.
How many people were swept up in the raid?
The Department of Homeland Security said around 200 people were arrested when federal law enforcement officers executed criminal warrants at the farm near Camarillo and another in Carpinteria, according to a statement released July 11.
The agency said they were undocumented, and also reported officers found “at least 10 migrant children” at the sites, according to the statement.
Glass House said it has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors. On July 10, the company received immigration and naturalization warrants, verified they were valid and complied, company officials said in a social media post.
Workers were detained and the company is assisting to provide them legal representation, according to the July 11 post.
“We do not expect this to affect operations moving forward,” the post said.
The federal agency estimated more than 500 were involved in protests, trying to disrupt the operations. Four, described as U.S. citizens, were being processed for charges including assault or resisting officers, the statement says.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said anyone who assaults or publicly identifies federal law enforcement would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, people damaged vehicles and one allegedly fired a gun.
The FBI in Los Angeles said a man, shown in footage from a news helicopter, appeared to fire a gun at law enforcement at 2:26 p.m. on Laguna Road. The incident happened “during a lawful search,” according to the FBI’s post, and a reward of up to $50,000 would be offered for information leading to a conviction.
What injuries were reported during the immigration raid, protests?
The Ventura County Fire Department said eight people were taken from the incident to local hospitals on July 10.
An additional four people were assessed and treated at the scene, said department spokesperson Andrew Dowd. The department did not have information about the injuries or conditions.
Teresa Romero, president of United Farm Workers, said in a statement that some workers were critically injured during the raid and that others, including U.S. citizens, remain unaccounted for. Later, the union reported one person had died.
“We tragically can confirm that a farm worker has died of injuries they sustained as a result of yesterday’s immigration enforcement action,” United Farm Workers said, in a post on social media.
Many workers, U.S. citizens included, were held at the farm by federal authorities for eight hours or more, Romero said.
Union staff were on the ground in Ventura County the morning after the raid supporting families, Romero said.
She said the union is aware of the reports of child labor violations and demanded that immigration authorities facilitate legal representation for the minor workers.
“To be clear: Detaining and deporting children is not a solution for child labor,” Romero wrote. “These violent and cruel federal actions terrorize American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families.”
When were local authorities notified about the raid?
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said it was notified of the ICE operation 15 minutes before federal officers executed search warrants. The notification takes place for officer safety purposes, according to a statement posted on social media.
“The sheriff’s office was not involved in this operation until the FBI called and requested assistance, advising that agents were being attacked by protestors,” Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said, in the statement. “The FBI advised us that they had deployed gas and munitions and that they needed help.”
Within 90 minutes of getting the request, the sheriff’s tactical response team responded to try to keep the peace between protesters and federal agents, and also to get federal agents and those arrested out of the area safely, according to the statement. Those efforts faced delays as protesters blocked exit points and placed nails on the road to disable transport vehicles, authorities said.
Fryhoff said no deputies were injured and they did not use force against anyone. The sheriff’s personnel left after the last group of detainees was transported, and the tactical response team was gone by midnight.
A video of news helicopter footage showing what appeared to be someone firing a handgun was included in the sheriff’s social media posts. In the statement, Fryhoff described the video as highlighting “the severity of the violence” that can happen during incidents.
“It is my sincere hope that this individual will be quickly identified and held accountable for this serious and egregious crime,” he said.
This story will be updated.
Isaiah Murtaugh covers Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or on Signal at 951-966-0914. Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.
Farmworker dies a day after chaotic immigration raid at California farm
At least 10 people were arrested in a raid on a cannabis farm in California. A man was killed in the raid and his body was taken to a local hospital. A woman was injured in a separate raid and taken to the hospital. The man’s body was later released. The raid took place in the town of Carpinteria, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is investigating the incident. It is not clear if the raid was a result of the raid or if it was a response to a previous raid in the same town in 2010 that left six people dead. The incident is being investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention and Control, which is responsible for the operation of the cannabis farm. The operation was called off after the second raid, which took place on July 10. The first raid occurred on July 7 and involved the arrest of a man and his wife who had been working on the farm for two weeks.
Jaime Alanis’s death was confirmed in a social media post by the United Farm Workers advocacy group. “We tragically can confirm that a farm worker has died of injuries they sustained as a result of yesterday’s immigration enforcement action,” the post read.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that authorities executed criminal search warrants in Carpinteria and Camarillo, California, on Thursday. They arrested immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally and there were also at least 10 immigrant children on site, the statement said.
Four US citizens were arrested for “assaulting or resisting officers”, the department said. Authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of one person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents. At least one worker was hospitalized with grave injuries.
During the raid, crowds of people gathered outside Glass House Farms at the Camarillo location to demand information about their relatives and protest immigration enforcement. A chaotic scene developed outside the farm that grows tomatoes, cucumbers and cannabis as authorities clad in helmets and uniforms faced off with the demonstrators. Acrid green and white billowing smoke then forced community members to retreat.
View image in fullscreen Federal agents block people protesting an Ice immigration raid at a cannabis farm near Camarillo, California, on 10 July 2025. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Glass House, a licensed California cannabis grower, said in a statement that immigration agents had valid warrants. The company said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” the statement said.
It is legal to grow and sell cannabis in California with proper licensing. State records show the company has multiple active licenses to cultivate cannabis.
On Friday, about two dozen people waited outside the Camarillo farm to retrieve the cars of loved ones and speak to managers about what happened. Relatives of Jaime Alanis, who has worked picking tomatoes at the farm for 10 years, said he called his wife in Mexico during the raid to tell her immigration agents had arrived and that he was hiding with others inside the farm.
“The next thing we heard was that he was in the hospital,” Juan Duran, Alanis’ brother-in-law, said in Spanish, his voice breaking.
Elizabeth Strater, national vice president of the United Farm Workers, said Alanis was injured after a 30-foot fall from a building during the raid.
View image in fullscreen Juan Duran, and his wife, no name given, wait outside Glass House Farms, where a relative was injured during a previous day immigration raid, on 11 July 2025, in Camarillo, California. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Photograph: Damian Dovarganes/AP
After immigration agents arrived at Glass House’s farm in Camarillo on Thursday morning, workers called family members to let them know authorities were there. Relatives and advocates headed to the farm about 50 miles (80km) north-west of downtown Los Angeles to try to find out what was going on, and began protesting outside.
Federal authorities formed a line blocking the road leading through farm fields to the company’s greenhouses. Protesters were seen shouting at agents wearing camouflage gear, helmets and gas masks. The billowing smoke drove protesters to retreat. It wasn’t clear why authorities threw the canisters or if they released chemicals such as teargas.
Ventura county fire authorities responding to a 911 call of people having trouble breathing said three people were taken to nearby hospitals.
At the farm, agents arrested workers and removed them by bus. Others, including US citizens, were detained at the site for hours while agents investigated.
The incident came as federal immigration agents have ramped up arrests in southern California at car washes, farms and Home Depot parking lots, stoking widespread fear among immigrant communities.
The mother of an American worker said her son was held at the worksite for 11 hours and told her agents took workers’ cellphones to prevent them from calling family or filming and forced them to erase cell phone video of agents at the site.
View image in fullscreen People embrace outside Glass House Farms, a day after an immigration raid on the facility, on 11 July in Camarillo, California. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Photograph: Damian Dovarganes/AP
The woman said her son told her agents marked the men’s hands with ink to distinguish their immigration status. She spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because she feared reprisals from the government.
United Farm Workers said in statement that some US citizens are not yet accounted for.
Maria Servin, 68, said her son has worked at the farm for 18 years and was helping to build a greenhouse. She said she spoke to her son, who is undocumented, after hearing of the raid and offered to pick him up.
“He said not to come because they were surrounded and there was even a helicopter. That was the last time I spoke to him,” Servin, a US citizen, said in Spanish.
She said she went to the farm anyway but federal agents were shooting teargas and rubber bullets and she decided it was not safe to stay. She and her daughter returned to the farm Friday and were told her son had been arrested Thursday. They still don’t know where he is being held.
“I regret 1,000 times that I didn’t help him get his documents,” Servin said.
Tense standoff as US authorities arrest 200 immigrants in raids on two California farms
About 200 immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally arrested in raids. Four US citizens arrested for “assaulting or resisting officers,” DHS says. At least one worker hospitalised with grave injuries. Crowds gathered outside Glass House Farms in Camarillo, California, to demand information about their relatives and protest immigration enforcement. ‘I regret 1,000 times that I didn’t help him get his documents,’ says mother of one of the arrested immigrants, who is an undocumented US citizen, who has worked at the farm for 18 years. ‘He said not to come because they were surrounded and there was even a helicopter,’ says the mother of another arrested immigrant, who worked at Glass House for 10 years.
Protesters engaged in a tense standoff on Friday with authorities at one of the farms during the operation.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that authorities executed criminal search warrants in Carpinteria and Camarillo, California, on Thursday.
They arrested immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally and there were also at least 10 immigrant children on site, the statement said.
Four US citizens were arrested for “assaulting or resisting officers,” the department said.
Authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of one person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents. At least one worker was hospitalised with grave injuries.
During the raid, crowds of people gathered outside Glass House Farms at the Camarillo location to demand information about their relatives and protest immigration enforcement.
A chaotic scene emerged outside the farm that grows tomatoes, cucumbers and cannabis as authorities clad in helmets and uniforms faced off with the demonstrators. Acrid green and white billowing smoke then forced community members to retreat.
ICE raids on farms
On Friday, about two dozen people waited outside the Camarillo farm to collect the cars of their loved ones and speak to managers about what happened.
Relatives of Jaime Alanis, who worked picking tomatoes for 10 years, said he called his wife in Mexico during the raid to tell her immigration agents had arrived and that he was hiding with others inside the farm.
“The next thing we heard was that he was in the hospital,” Juan Duran, Alanis’ brother-in-law, said in Spanish, his voice breaking.
It was not immediately clear how Alanis was injured. A doctor told the family that others who brought Alanis to the hospital said he had fallen from the roof of a building.
Alanis had a broken neck, fractured skull and a rupture in an artery that pumps blood to the brain, said his niece Yesenia, who didn’t want to share her last name for fear of reprisal.
Related TRT Global – Shutters down, nerves high: Inside the silent fight of LA’s immigrants as ICE raids continue
Maria Servin, 68, said her son Rafael Ortiz has worked at the farm for 18 years and was helping build a greenhouse when federal immigrations agents arrived on Thursday.
Servin said she spoke to her son, who is undocumented, after hearing of the raid and offered to pick him up. “He said not to come because they were surrounded and there was even a helicopter. That was the last time I spoke to him,” Servin, who is a naturalised US citizen, said in Spanish.
She said she went to the farm anyway on Thursday, but agents were shooting tear gas and rubber bullets, and she decided it wasn’t safe to stay.
On Friday, she returned with her daughter and was told her son had been arrested. The family still doesn’t know where he is being held or how to contact him. “I regret 1,000 times that I didn’t help him get his documents,” Servin said.
Glass House said in a statement that the company does not violate “applicable hiring practices” and does not employ children.
DHS: 200 arrested and 10 minors found during marijuana farms raid, while ‘law enforcement dodge literal bullets from rioters’
Federal immigration authorities conducted coordinated enforcement operations at two licensed cannabis cultivation sites in Southern California on Thursday. The operation prompted unrest, culminating in a tense standoff between law enforcement and hundreds of protesters at the Ventura County location. The United Farm Workers (UFW) union reported that the worker at the Camarillo greenhouse location, who fell “several stories” during Thursday’s operation, did in fact pass away. During the operation, at least 10 migrant children were rescued from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking. Federal officers also arrested approximately 200 illegal aliens from both sites. The FBI is investigating a shooting incident that took place during the enforcement operation inCamarillo. The site is now under federal investigation for potential child labor violations, and is being called “beyond outrageous” by an “investor” of Glass House Farms, who said the raid was “the government is aware of cartels, illicit crime, the whole thing and yet, they decide to spend their resources going after a total legal company that pays the state of California hundreds of millions of dollars excise tax.
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
2:40 PM – Friday, July 11, 2025
Federal immigration authorities conducted coordinated enforcement operations at two licensed cannabis cultivation sites in Southern California on Thursday, discovering 10 minors and detaining “about 200 individuals” without papers who are suspected of being illegal aliens.
Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that “ICE and CBP Law Enforcement” had to “dodge literal bullets from rioters” who were seemingly forewarned about the operation.
“Federal law enforcement officers executed criminal warrant operations at marijuana grow sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo. During the operation, at least 10 migrant children were rescued from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking. Federal officers also arrested approximately 200 illegal aliens from both sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo,” the DHS stated. Advertisement
Footage circulating on social media recorded agents deploying non-lethal munitions to disperse an angry crowd near Glass House Farms, a cannabis greenhouse in Camarillo.
Simultaneously, agents also executed a similar operation 35 miles north in Carpinteria, where a group of onlookers and protesters gathered around another Glass House Farms facility.
The operation prompted unrest, culminating in a tense standoff between law enforcement and hundreds of protesters at the Ventura County location.
There were also incoming reports of a “fatal fall” involving one farmworker who attempted to escape during the operation. The United Farm Workers (UFW) union reported that the worker at the Camarillo greenhouse location, who fell “several stories” during Thursday’s operation, did in fact pass away. According to UFW representative Elizabeth Strater, the individual was transported from the Ventura County site by ambulance, and on Friday morning, the union confirmed that he had died as a result of the incident. The now-deceased worker’s identity has not been publicly disclosed,.
Andrew Dowd, the spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department, also confirmed that eight individuals were transported to local hospitals on Thursday afternoon following incidents in and around the Camarillo facility. An additional four individuals were treated on-site for minor injuries as well.
Additionally, a spokesperson for the FBI confirmed that the agency is investigating a shooting incident that took place during the enforcement operation in Camarillo.
Footage obtained by ABC7 News appeared to depict a rioter shooting his firearm at federal immigration agents following the deployment of smoke canisters — intending to disperse the crowd.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott announced on X that ten illegal alien children were discovered at the facility during the raid, including eight who were “unaccompanied.” He emphasized that the site is now under federal investigation for potential child labor violations.
Meanwhile, Marc Cohodes, an “investor of Glass House,” told reporters that the raid was “beyond outrageous.”
“The government is aware of cartels, illicit crime, the whole thing and yet, and yet, they decide to spend their resources going after a total legal company that pays the state of California hundreds of millions of dollars excise tax,” he stated.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on the recent operation as well.
McLaughlin serves as the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the DHS. Her responsibilities include leading DHS’s communication strategy, overseeing all public outreach across multiple channels — including traditional media, digital platforms, strategic campaign initiatives, and crisis communications. She also acts as the principal advisor to the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on both internal and external communications.
“At the California marijuana facilities, ICE and CBP law enforcement rescued at least 10 migrant children from what looks like exploitation, forced child labor, and potentially human trafficking or smuggling. Our law enforcement also arrested nearly 200 illegal aliens,” said McLaughlin. “During the operation, a violent agitator fired a gun at our brave officers. While ICE and CBP officers are being assaulted by rioters and dodging bullets to save children, Sanctuary politicians are demonizing ICE and CBP. We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who assaults or doxes federal law enforcement.”
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About 200 arrested in immigration enforcement operations at California farms, DHS says
Federal agents descended on the Glass House Farms properties in Camarillo and Carpinteria. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner said 10 undocumented minors were found on the properties. The United Farm Workers labor union said it is aware of reports of child labor at the site. Four people were arrested on suspicion of assaulting or resisting officers, the DHS said. The FBI also issued a $50,000 reward for a person armed with a gun who appeared to open fire during one of the altercations.. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday, “We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who assaults or doxes federal law enforcement” The company has multiple active licenses to cultivate cannabis in California, where it is legal to do so with proper licensing. In California, the minimum age for agricultural employment outside school hours is 12, but the state also has a set of rules for cannabis cultivation that include an age requirement of 21. For confidential support on suicide matters call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here.
Federal agents were at the Glass House Farms cannabis farm properties in Camarillo and Carpinteria to execute criminal warrants.
DHS said the law enforcement activity was part of an investigation into immigration and potential child labor violations.
The United Farm Workers labor union released a statement indicating some workers, including U.S. citizens, “remain totally unaccounted for.”
About 200 people were arrested Thursday at two immigration enforcement operations that targeted cannabis farms in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, the Department of Homeland Security said
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Federal agents descended on the Glass House Farms properties in Camarillo and Carpinteria to execute criminal warrants, according to federal authorities. DHS said the law enforcement activity was part of an investigation into immigration and potential child labor violations.
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The U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner said 10 undocumented minors were found on the properties, eight of whom were unaccompanied.
During a standoff that went on for hours near Camarillo, agents clashed with protesters on roads surrounded by sprawling farm fields in the community northwest of Los Angeles. Four people were arrested on suspicion of assaulting or resisting officers, the DHS said.
Video showed several white vans, similar to those seen at other immigration enforcement operations in Southern California, and at least one U.S. Marshals Service bus at the scene. Details about where the detained individuals were taken were not immediately available.
The FBI also issued a $50,000 reward for a person armed with a gun who appeared to open fire during one of the altercations. No injuries related to gunfire were reported.
More details about the allegations included in the warrants were not immediately available, but the DHS said information will be released as the investigation continues.
“At the California marijuana facilities, ICE and CBP law enforcement rescued at least 10 migrant children from what looks like exploitation, forced child labor, and potentially human trafficking or smuggling. Our law enforcement also arrested nearly 200 illegal aliens,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “During the operation, a violent agitator fired a gun at our brave officers. While ICE and CBP officers are being assaulted by rioters and dodging bullets to save children, Sanctuary politicians are demonizing ICE and CBP. We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who assaults or doxes federal law enforcement.”
Glass House Farms said on social media that it was visited Thursday by officials for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and “fully complied with agent search warrants.” State records show the company has multiple active licenses to cultivate cannabis in California, where it is legal to do so with proper licensing.
The United Farm Workers labor union said it is aware of reports of child labor at the site.
“The UFW is also aware of reports of child labor on site. The UFW demands the immediate facilitation of independent legal representation for the minor workers, to protect them from further harm,” the union said in a statement. “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.”
Several states, including California, have agricultural child labor laws that are different from federal rules. In California, the minimum age for agricultural employment outside school hours is 12, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, but the state also has a set of rules for cannabis cultivation that include an age requirement of 21.
Details about the ages of the children found at the farm were not immediately available.
Among seven people injured during the Camarillo clash with the federal agents, four of them were taken to a hospital while three others were treated and released at the scene, the Ventura County Fire Department confirmed Thursday.
In response to Thursday’s operations, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office issued a statement.
“Instead of supporting the businesses and workers that drive our economy and way of life, Stephen Miller’s tactics evoke chaos, fear and terror within our communities at every turn,” Newsom’s office said. “At Miller’s direction, Trump’s agents continue to detain U.S. citizens and racially profile Americans, ripping families apart and disappearing parents and workers into cruel federal detention centers to meet their self-imposed arrest quotas.”
In a response to a post on X by CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott about the child labor violation allegations, Gov. Newsom said Friday, “We prosecute criminals that break child labor laws. You make the kids pose for photos, tear gas them, and promote laws like this.”
Federal immigration enforcement agents have ramped up arrests in Southern California, carrying out operations at car washes, farms and home improvement store parking lots. The Trump administration has activated the National Guard to protect federal properties and personnel, and several Guard members and vehicles were seen near Camarillo.
More than 55,000 migrants nationwide have been taken into ICE custody over the past six months, according to data compiled by NBC News. About 28 percent have criminal convictions with about 25 percent having pending criminal charges. About 47 percent were listed as “other immigration violator.”
California is home to 10.6 million immigrants, more than any other state, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. The Pew Research Center estimates that 1.8 million immigrants in California were undocumented in 2022, a figure that dropped from 2.8 million in 2007.
At least half of the estimated 255,700 farmworkers in California are undocumented, according to UC Merced Research.