California farm raids shape up to be the biggest since January, Trump administration says

By JULIE WATSON AMY TAXIN and OLGA R RODRIGUEZ Associated Press Federal administration now say they arrested more than people at two Southern California marijuana farms last week characterizing the raids as one of the largest operations since President Donald Trump took office in January One farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof during the chaotic raids on Thursday after the Department of Homeland Precaution executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria northwest of Los Angeles What happened During the raid on the Camarillo site crowds gathered seeking information about their relatives and to protest immigration enforcement Officers clad in military-style helmets and uniforms faced off with the demonstrators and people ultimately retreated amid acrid green and white billowing smoke Glass House Brands is a major cannabis company in California that started a decade ago with a greenhouse in the Santa Barbara County group of Carpinteria Federal immigration agents talk to Rebecca Torres second left after she tried to block a military bus during a raid in the agriculture area of Camarillo Calif Thursday July AP Photo Michael Owen Baker The company reported it later expanded buying another facility in the Ventura County locality of Camarillo that included six tomato and cucumber-growing greenhouses Glass House converted two of them to grow cannabis according to the company s website Relatives of workers at the Camarillo site disclosed tomatoes are still also grown at the location Arrest numbers keep rising The federal executive initially revealed that particular people suspected of being in the country illegally were arrested Then on Saturday Homeland Precaution Secretary Kristi Noem commented people were arrested and declared on X it was hurriedly becoming one of the largest operations since President Trump took office Milk is poured on a protester s face after federal immigration agents tossed tear gas at protesters during a raid in the agriculture area of Camarillo Calif Thursday July AP Photo Michael Owen Baker A day later the arrest numbers according to the Department of Homeland Defense were up to from the two locations The leadership revealed four of the arrested had prior criminal records including convictions for rape and kidnapping One death communicated from the raids A farmworker who fell from a greenhouse roof during the raid at the farm in Camarillo died Saturday of his injuries Jaime Alanis is the first known fatality during one of the Trump administration s ongoing immigration enforcement operations Yesenia Duran Alanis niece approved his death to The Associated Press She posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe that her uncle was his family s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to a wife and daughter in Mexico Alanis worked at the farm for years his family announced He called his wife in Mexico and narrated her he was hiding from federal agents during the raid Thursday A medical professional stated his relatives the ambulance crew who took him to a hospital stated he fell about feet Duran commented Related Articles US imposes a duty on fresh Mexican tomatoes Trump administration says it won t publish major state change review on NASA website as promised How Trump plans to dismantle the Mentoring Department after Supreme Court ruling MAGA faithful are angry about the Epstein occurrence Here s what to know Supreme Court allows Trump to lay off nearly Training Department employees Why was the business raided The regime says it is studying prospective child labor human trafficking and other abuse Initially DHS commented immigrant children were on the property They later increased that number to Officials declined to share the warrant for the operation The administration has disclosed no additional information about the children including their ages and what they were doing on the property when executives arrived DHS has not provided details to back up its claim of workable trafficking or other abuse and the company has not been charged with anything It was unclear if any of the minors were the children of farm workers at the sites or if they came to the U S without an adult Federal and state laws allow children as young as to work in agriculture under certain conditions according to the U S Department of Labor In California children as young as can work on farms outside of school hours while those as young as can work during school hours if they are not required to attend school the agency explained on its website No one under the age of is allowed to work in the cannabis industry The California Department of Cannabis Control conducted a site visit in May and observed no minors on the premises a spokesman noted After receiving a subsequent complaint the state opened an research to ensure full compliance with state law U S citizens were among those arrested Four U S citizens were arrested during the raids for allegedly assaulting or resisting officers according to DHS and agents were offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents Among those arrested was California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello U S Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X Essayli stated Caravello was arrested for throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement and was to appear in court Tuesday The California Faculty Association declared Caravello was taken away by agents who did not identify themselves nor inform him of why he was being arrested The association declared he was then held without being able to contact his family Caravello was attempting to dislodge a tear gas canister that was stuck underneath someone s wheelchair spectators informed KABC-TV the ABC affiliate in Los Angeles Separately the federal Bureau of Prisons noted George Retes was in their custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles from Thursday to Sunday Retes family stated KABC-TV on Sunday that he is a U S citizen works as a defense guard at the farm in Camarillo and is a disabled U S Army veteran They declared Retes was trying to drive away during the clashes between protesters and agents when an officer stopped him broke his car window and shot pepper spray before dragging him out of his car and arresting him Retes sister Destinee Maga a described the television station on Sunday that the family had been trying to get in touch with her brother Federal agents thought he was allegedly part of the protest but he wasn t he was trying to reverse his car Maga a disclosed Neither Retes nor Maga a responded to emails Monday from The Associated Press seeking comment