(KTLA) – Federal immigration agents, assisted by members of the National Guard, carried out raids at two Southern California cannabis farms Thursday, arresting dozens, including undocumented minors, in an operation that drew several hundred protestors and violent clashes with officers.
The immigration sweeps, one at Glass House Farms in Camarillo and another about 35 miles up the coast at another Glass House facility in Carpinteria, unfolded simultaneously at around 8:30 a.m.
In Camarillo, video from Nexstar’s KTLA showed a large federal law enforcement presence in the fields, with agents detaining workers as several hundred protesters began gathering.
United States Attorney Bill Essayli confirmed the operation in a post to X.
“Federal agents are executing a search warrant at this marijuana farm,” he wrote. “Agents have already arrested multiple individuals for impeding this operation and will continue to make arrests. Don’t interfere. You will be arrested and charged with a federal offense.”
The scene escalated around 12:35 p.m. when tear gas and less-than-lethal rounds were deployed into crowds of protestors who had blocked roadways on both north and southbound Laguna Road.
Essayli later posted a video to X, showing what looks like a man firing at federal agents.
“[The] FBI has issued a $50,000 award for information leading to the conviction of an Unknown Subject who appeared to fire a pistol at Federal Law Enforcement Officers near Camarillo,” he said. “The shooting occurred on 7/10/25 at approximately 2:26 p.m. on Laguna Rd between Wood Rd and Las Posas Rd.”
Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott posted to X that 10 undocumented minors at the Camarillo farm, eight of them unaccompanied, were found, and Glass House is now under investigation for child labor violations.
“This is Newsom’s California,” he added.
First responders with the Ventura County Fire Department responded to the scene on reports of a multi-casualty incident but were forced to set up a triage system for people injured by tear gas at a safe distance from the ongoing operation.
Five people, according to the Los Angeles Times, were taken to the hospital.
Ventura County fire officials said in a statement that their presence was “solely to provide medical aid” and that the department “has no connection with any federal immigration enforcement actions.”
Similarly, Ventura County sheriff’s deputies were deployed to control traffic, but told The Times they were not involved in the federal operation.
By around 6:30 p.m., some 200 protesters were still at the site where more than three dozen troops, many holding shields, and federal agents stood their ground.
During the Carpinteria operation, Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) attempted to enter the area cordoned off by federal agents, but was denied access and turned around, video from local news station KEYT showed.
Carbajal released a statement following the enforcement operation in which he described a “troubling lack of transparency” from the Department of Homeland Security since the Trump Administration began its high-profile immigration busts in California.
“I will be demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security to find out who they detained and where the detainees are being taken,” the statement reads in part. “These militarized ICE raids are not how you keep our communities safe. This kind of chaos only traumatizes families and tears communities apart.”
Just before 8 p.m., DHS officials reposted video originally put on X by Gov. Gavin Newsom, in which he references President Donald Trump’s “Newscum” nickname for the governor and then calls the president “the real scum.”
“Why are there children working at a marijuana facility, Gavin?” DHS’s post reads.
Marc Cohodes, who is an investor in Glass House Farms, which claims to be the “largest [legal] cannabis cultivator in the world,” called the raids “beyond outrageous,” The Times reported.
For its part, Glass House released a short statement on X, reading:
“Glass House Farms were visited today by ICE Officials. The company fully complied with agent search warrants and will provide further updates if necessary.”
While it’s unclear how many undocumented workers and protesters were detained, DHS released a statement saying:
“DHS law enforcement is executing criminal warrants at a marijuana facility. Our brave officers will continue to enforce the law.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
