VENTURA, CA — A Southern California community was on edge after protesters and federal agents carried out immigration sweeps at one of the largest cannabis farms in the state, blocking off a road outside the facility and firing projectiles in the crowd. Reports flooded social media of federal agents arriving at a Glass House Farms facility outside Camarillo, an agricultural region of coastal Southern California, on July 10. Video posted by 805 Immigrant Coalition, a group that tracks U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, showed men in tactical gear blocking off a roadway. Federal agents also raided a Glass House Farms greenhouse facility in Carpinteria, California, on July 10,according to the Santa Barbara news site Noozhawk. Protesters there faced off with agents in a similar situation to the one near Camarillo. At the scene, yellow crime scene tape with U.S. Border Patrol markings stretched across Laguna Road. On one side stood what appeared to be masked and armed federal agents while a crowd of more than 100 people amassed at the other end, taunting the agents and yelling expletives. Agents fired projectiles into the crowd, striking several people and hitting at least one in the face. Agents lobbed canisters that emitted yellow or white gas. Protesters stomped on several of the canisters until they went out. The masked agents continued to deploy gas canisters through 1:30 p.m. local time. Some people in the crowd left while others poured milk on their faces to counteract the gas. Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Andrew Dowd said three people had been transported to area hospitals. He did not know the extent of their injuries but said crews were on site to help people who were injured. The Glass House Farms greenhouse complex is one of the largest licensed cannabis farms in California, with more than 5 million square feet of growing space. The company bought the property from Houweling's Tomatoes in 2021. Glass House Farms, which describes itself as one of the "fastest-growing vertically integrated cannabis companies in the U.S.,"said on Xthat its facilities "were visited today by ICE officials." The company added that it "fully complied with agent search warrants and will provide further updates if necessary." ICE raids in Southern California:Bishop suspends weekly Mass obligation over immigration raid fears Some of the gathered crowd were protesters. Others were family members of farmworkers. Jessica Lopez was leaning against a vehicle. She said she got a call from her husband at about 9:30 a.m. local time saying ICE was in the facility. Lopez, a U.S. citizen, said her undocumented husband worked at Glass House. "Last time I talked to him, he said he was hiding somewhere," she said. "They're taking hardworking people who have had no problems with the law." Adrian Garcia, 25, from Oxnard, California, previously worked at the farm. He held a sign handed to him by another protester that read "We are essential" in Spanish. Garcia, like others who gathered in the crowd, said he rushed to the scene after hearing from family inside the facility. Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites said the initial operation appeared to be entirely composed of federal agents. Steve Auclair, president of the Ventura County Democratic Party, described the situation at Glass House Farms as "totally outrageous." His mother, who is in her mid-60s, was hit by the gas and struck by a projectile. He called it "a military attack on our community." "First they came for the farmworker, and now, they're taking all of us," Auclair said. Jacqui Irwin, who represents California's 42nd Assembly District, wrote in a statement that she was heartbroken by images of what she called "senseless" raids at local farms. Her district covers a swath of Ventura County, including Camarillo, and portions of Los Angeles County. "Deporting our field workers does nothing to strengthen the safety of our community but rather, serves to instill fear in immigrant communities and make them less likely to involve law enforcement when crimes do occur." Teresa Romero, the president of United Farm Workers, said union members at the farm have been in contact with staff during the incident, but that details on the operation are still unclear. "All we know is that it's happening," Romero said. "There's no good reason to do this to agricultural areas, to the agricultural industry. These workers are working very hard, and they are just living in panic." Shortly after 2 p.m. local time, a large white bus rolled down Laguna Road from the facility, accompanied by what appeared to be a National Guard vehicle. Gas and pellets were used on the waning crowd. Small puddles of milk dotted the road where protesters had treated their eyes from the gas. Federal agents had moved the line of protesters back, but demonstrators also hurled objects at their vehicles. Family members of workers kept vigil outside, waiting for word of their loved ones. Dalia Perez, 30, of Oxnard, said she last heard her mother was in a room at the facility with ICE agents and that her phone was taken away. "Upset. Helpless," Perez said of how she was feeling. "(Her mom) hasn't done anything wrong. She just worked for us to have a better life here." Perez said her mother, who is undocumented, has lived in Oxnard for more than 30 years. "We just want to know if our family is OK," she said. In recent months, the Trump administration has ramped up deportation efforts in California by conducting immigration raids at workplaces, traffic stops, and routine legal check-ins. The federal immigration sweeps have sparked fear and protests, including in Los Angeles County, which is south of the cities of Camarillo and Carpinteria.Isolated but intense demonstrationserupted in downtown Los Angeles in June after immigration agents carried out aseries of raidsacross the county. The raids and Trump's actions during the protests, including calling in the4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines, prompted alegal and social media standoffbetween state leaders and the administration. The administration has changed its position several times in recent weeks on whether farmworkers will be subject to its campaign to deport all immigrants living in the United States without legal status. In June, Trump ordered ICE tohalt enforcement activitieson farms, but the agencyreversed that positiondays later. The president then said in early July that he was willing to let migrant workers stay in the country if farmers could "vouch" for them. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins later said there would be "no amnesty" for farmworkers from deportation. About 42% offarmworkersfrom 2020 to 2022 were in the country without legal status,according to the Department of Homeland Security. In California, immigrants make up about one-third of workers and comprise anoutsize shareof the workforce in physically intensive sectors like construction and agriculture,USA TODAYpreviously reported. Contributing: Tony Biasotti, Makena Huey, and Cheri Carlson, USA TODAY Network; Bailey Schulz and Medora Lee, USA TODAY; Reuters This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star:Immigration agents and protesters clash during California farm raids
