Farm worker dies after being injured during immigration raid in California

Camarillo, California - A farm worker has died after being injured during a raid by immigration agents on a legal cannabis farm in California, his family said on Saturday.

Raids on agricultural sites Thursday resulted in the arrests of 200 undocumented migrants and clashes between law enforcement officials and protesters.
Raids on agricultural sites Thursday resulted in the arrests of 200 undocumented migrants and clashes between law enforcement officials and protesters.  © BLAKE FAGAN / AFP

Raids on agricultural sites Thursday resulted in the arrests of 200 undocumented migrants, as part of President Donald Trump's wide-ranging anti-immigration crackdown, and clashes between law enforcement officials and protesters.

The family of Jaime Alanis Garcia had started a page on the fundraising platform GoFundMe to help support his relatives in Mexico. On Saturday, the page posted an update to say he had "passed away."

Trump campaigned for the presidency on a harsh anti-immigration platform, likening undocumented migrants to "animals" and "monsters," and since taking office, he has delivered on promises to conduct a massive deportation drive.

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On Friday, he called demonstrators involved in attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents "slimeballs" and said they should be arrested.

The chaotic raid on the cannabis plantation in Ventura County, about 56 miles from Los Angeles, saw the worker who later died being chased by ICE agents, his family said.

"My uncle Jaime was just a hard-working, innocent farmer," said a post on the GoFundMe page. "He was chased by ICE agents, and we were told he fell 30ft."

The page described his injuries as "catastrophic."

Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman, said he was never in custody.

Farm denies allegations by Trump administration

"Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a green house and fell 30 feet," McLaughlin said. "[Customs and Border Patrol] immediately called a medevac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible."

DHS said 200 undocumented migrants were arrested during raids on marijuana growing sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo on Thursday, and 10 children were rescued "from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking."

Glass House Brands, which owns the farms, said in a statement that it has "never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors."

Cover photo: BLAKE FAGAN / AFP

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