Protesters Clash With Agents During California ICE Farm Raid/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Federal agents clashed with protesters during an immigration raid at a cannabis farm in Camarillo, California. Tear gas and smoke canisters were deployed as demonstrators tried to intervene. The operation adds to growing tensions over immigration enforcement in Southern California.
California Farm Raid Quick Looks
- Federal agents raided a cannabis farm in Camarillo.
- Protesters gathered, leading to confrontations with authorities.
- Tear gas or smoke canisters dispersed crowds near greenhouses.
- ICE and Homeland Security executed search warrants.
- Farm reportedly compliant with legal cannabis licenses.
- Workers and protesters detained, some injured and hospitalized.
- Immigration raids increase tensions in Southern California.
- Local families left uncertain about detained loved ones.
Protesters Clash With Agents During California ICE Farm Raid
Deep Look
A dramatic confrontation unfolded Thursday as federal agents descended on a cannabis farm in Southern California’s agricultural heartland, setting off a volatile clash with protesters who tried to block the raid.
The incident took place in Camarillo, where a quiet landscape of sprawling fields and greenhouses erupted into chaos. Vehicles belonging to Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection lined the roads. Overhead, a helicopter circled while military-style vehicles rumbled across dusty paths, underscoring the scale of the operation.
As news of the raid spread, demonstrators converged on the scene. Television footage captured powerful images: rows of federal agents in camouflage, helmets, and gas masks facing off against civilians waving flags and chanting. A protester knelt defiantly in a field, others stood their ground in front of armored vehicles. The tension spilled over when agents deployed canisters that released clouds of white and green smoke, sending people scattering.
Though it was unclear whether the canisters contained tear gas or another chemical, witnesses described burning eyes and stinging skin. Judith Ramos, a 22-year-old certified nursing assistant, rushed to the farm after receiving a frantic phone call from her father, who works in the tomato fields adjacent to the cannabis operation.
“He said immigration was outside his job, and if anything happened to take care of everything,” Ramos recounted, her voice trembling. “They didn’t want us to get any closer, and they started firing. I got some in my eyes. I had to put milk on my face.”
Ramos said her father’s truck remained parked at the worksite, but she had lost contact with him for over an hour. “I don’t know where he is,” she said, echoing fears shared by many families in the immigrant community.
Photographs from local media outlets painted a chaotic scene. Some people were seen sitting against a wall, hands bound in front of them. It remains unclear whether those detained were farm workers, protesters, or both.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that officials were executing a search warrant at a marijuana cultivation facility. Glass House Farms, a prominent cannabis grower operating legally under California’s licensing system, acknowledged on social media that it was the target of Thursday’s operation. “We fully complied with agent search warrants,” the company stated.
Cannabis is legal to cultivate and sell in California, provided businesses hold proper licenses. State records indicate Glass House Farms has multiple active permits for cannabis cultivation in Ventura County. According to reports from the Ventura County Star, the company had been dividing its acreage equally between cannabis, tomatoes, and cucumbers as recently as last year.
The raid comes amid a broader crackdown on undocumented immigration across Southern California. Federal agents have ramped up arrests in diverse locations — car washes, farm fields, and even the parking lots of big-box stores like Home Depot — igniting waves of fear in immigrant communities. The Trump administration has deployed National Guard units to shield federal immigration agents during these raids. Earlier this week, a significant caravan of troops, some mounted on horses and others armed, arrived at a park in Los Angeles in anticipation of further demonstrations.
While federal officials have remained tight-lipped about the specific objectives of Thursday’s raid, the operation underscores the increasing overlap between immigration enforcement and California’s cannabis industry, an industry already navigating complex legal waters despite state-level legalization.
Andrew Dowd, a spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department, reported that emergency medical services were dispatched to the scene around 12:15 p.m. Paramedics transported three individuals to nearby hospitals. Details on their injuries or medical conditions were not immediately released.
“I don’t have information on the types of injuries or who exactly was transported,” Dowd said. “We also don’t have details on law enforcement activities.”
Community advocates fear the incident may deepen anxieties among farmworkers — many of whom are immigrants who live under constant worry about immigration enforcement. The overlapping identities of workers and demonstrators at Thursday’s raid have further blurred the line between targeted law enforcement actions and collateral impact on local families.
“People are terrified,” said one organizer who declined to be named for fear of retaliation. “They’re not just raiding undocumented people — they’re raiding entire communities.”
As the dust settles over Camarillo’s sun-drenched fields, questions remain about who was taken into custody, the scale of federal enforcement priorities, and the fate of workers caught in the crossfire between politics, law enforcement, and the cannabis economy.
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