LOS ANGELES—California’s biggest legal marijuana grower said nine of its employees were detained in a federal immigration enforcement operation last month that netted hundreds of arrests, and that the business has ended its relationship with two labor contractors that supplied its farmworkers.
The statement came nearly a month after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entered Glass House’s farms in Camarillo and Carpinteria, northwest of Los Angeles, and arrested about 360 people. Federal officials characterized the operation as one of the largest immigration operations since President Donald Trump took office in January.
In Camarillo, armored vehicles blocked the road outside while demonstrators faced off with federal agents who fired tear gas to disperse them. Inside, one farmworker fell from a greenhouse roof while running to hide from authorities and later died from his injuries.
Glass House Brands said in a statement it was served a federal search warrant at its two farms for an investigation into suspected immigration violations.
After the operation, federal authorities said agents found 14 illegal immigrant children on the Camarillo property and that it was investigating potential child labor, human trafficking, and other abuse.
The company didn’t confirm that minors were at the site and said none of the nine employees were teens.
Glass House said it worked with farm labor contractors that were required to ensure workers were at least 21 years old, in line with California’s marijuana-growing regulations.
“Any other individuals detained or arrested would have been either employees of third-party contractors providing services at the Company’s Camarillo farm,” Glass House said in a statement on Monday, adding that it is now working with other contractors.
The company said it also hired consultants to assist with determining the employment eligibility of its employees and those of its contractors.
The operation came more than a month into an extended immigration crackdown across Southern California that was originally centered in Los Angeles.
Online court records don’t show any federal charges filed against Glass House. Messages seeking comment were left with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
It is legal to grow and sell cannabis in California with proper licensing. State records showed Glass House had multiple active licenses to cultivate cannabis at the time of the operations.
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