Federal officials announced that around 200 workers were arrested in two raids on cannabis farms in Southern California on Thursday — likely the largest single-day immigration crackdown in the state’s history.
“On July 10, 2025, federal law enforcement officers executed criminal warrant operations at marijuana grow sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo,” reads a statement issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “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.”
DHS says that during the operation, over 500 demonstrators congregated at the two Glass House Farms sites in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers taking workers and family members from the farms.
The protests at the Ventura County farm escalated when, at around 12:35 p.m., officers deployed tear gas and less-than-lethal rounds into crowds of protestors who had blocked roadways on both north and southbound Laguna Road. Paramedics responded to the scene and set up a triage system for people injured by tear gas at a safe distance from the ongoing operation.
“Four U.S. citizens are being criminally processed for assaulting or resisting officers,” reads the DHS statement. In addition, the federal government says some protesters damaged official vehicles, and one demonstrator allegedly fired a gun at ICE and CBP agents. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooting suspect.
“During the operation, a violent agitator fired a gun at our brave officers,” says Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “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 is now under investigation for alleged child labor violations, according to the DHS. The company issued a statement saying it is fully cooperating with ICE, but declined to comment further. It remains unclear whether the facility is operating.
McLaughlin’s comments about “Sanctuary politicians” come after a morning of statements and press conferences with local and state leaders speaking out against the large-scale operation, including comments from Governor Gavin Newsom and action by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
“Trump calls me ‘Newscum’ — but he’s the real scum,” Newsom wrote on X, including a video from KTLA of protesters of the raid running from tear gas sprayed by officers in Camarillo.
In a post on X, the Department of Homeland Security responded to Newsom, asking, “Why are there children working at a marijuana facility, Gavin?” The governor later replied with another X post, saying, “We prosecute criminals that break child labor laws. You make the kids pose for photos, tear gas them, and promote laws like this,” and attached screenshots of headlines on articles about child labor violations.
Around the same time as the back-and-forth on social media, Mayor Bass held a press conference where she announced and signed a new executive directive aimed at strengthening city protections for immigrant communities in the wake of what she described as “unlawful and chaotic” federal immigration raids across the region.
Meanwhile, at the Glass House Farms in Ventura County, families and dozens of people were seen still standing outside the facility on Friday morning, hoping to reunite with loved ones who were detained or possibly still hiding.
The Camarillo raid coincided with a second federal operation at another Glass House location in Carpinteria, about 50 miles northwest. U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), whose district includes Carpinteria, attempted to access that site but was turned away by agents. He later criticized what he described as a “troubling lack of transparency” from federal authorities.
“These militarized ICE raids are not how you keep our communities safe,” Carbajal said. “This kind of chaos only traumatizes families and tears communities apart.”
As for the DHS’s response to the large-scale federal immigration raid, it concluded its statement by saying, “The investigation into immigration and potential child labor violations is ongoing. Information will be released as it becomes available.”
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