Camarillo - Saba:
A farm worker died on Friday from injuries sustained during a raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on a legal cannabis farm in California, which resulted in the arrest of 200 undocumented migrants and clashes with protesters.
Former President Donald Trump condemned the protesters, who were immigrant rights activists, for attacking ICE agents. On his platform “Truth Social,” he vowed to arrest “those thugs.”
In a separate development, a judge ordered a halt to "roving patrols" in Los Angeles by federal agents detaining undocumented migrants without probable cause and denying them due process.
District Judge Mame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered an end to the arrests, saying they were being conducted "solely on the basis of race," such as whether someone spoke Spanish or English with an accent, or based on their workplace.
Trump’s comments and the court order came a day after a chaotic raid on a cannabis farm in Ventura County, located about 90 kilometers from Los Angeles, which left one farm worker seriously injured.
The United Farm Workers union said Friday on X that the worker “died from injuries sustained as a result of ICE actions yesterday.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that 200 undocumented migrants were arrested during raids on marijuana cultivation sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo on Thursday, in addition to rescuing 10 children “from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking.”
Glass House Brands, the company that owns the farms, responded in a statement saying it "did not knowingly violate any applicable employment practices and has never employed minors."
The company confirmed it would provide legal counsel for the detained workers.
DHS said that more than 500 “rioters” attempted to obstruct the raid. Four U.S. citizens face charges for assaulting or resisting law enforcement officers.
Tear gas was used to disperse protesters, some of whom were seen in video footage throwing objects at ICE vehicles.
ICE reported that its vehicles were damaged and offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of an individual suspected of firing shots at law enforcement officers.