Some 200 people were arrested in the two operations, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
At least one worker was critically injured during the raids and others, including U.S citizens, “remain unaccounted for,” the United Farm Workers said. Employees were held onsite for eight hours or more, the labor union said.
Several U.S. citizens were released only after agreeing to delete videos and photos of the raid from their phones, the UFW said in a statement.
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information on a person who appeared to fire a pistol at federal officers. The U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, said it occurred around 2:30 p.m. Thursday outside the Camarillo grow house.
“While ICE and CBP officers are being assaulted by rioters and dodging bullets to save children, Sanctuary politicians are demonizing ICE and CBP,” Essayli said in a statement. “We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who assaults or doxes federal law enforcement.”
U.S Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott posted a photo on X Friday of what appeared to be 10 young people detained at the Camarillo farm.
“These are the juveniles found in the marijuana facility — almost all unaccompanied, one as young as 14. California are you ready to partner with us to stop child exploitation?” the post read.
The UFW said it was aware of the reports and demanded legal representation for the minors.
“To be clear, detaining and deporting children is not a solution for child labor,” the union said in a statement.
Rodriguez said Glass House has a policy of only employing people who are at least 21 years old, and he could not personally identify the people in the photo, whose faces were blurred.
He said “there are no underage workers” at the two facilities he manages in Carpinteria.
“I am absolutely positive of that,” he said.
Graham Farrar, the CEO of Glass House Farms, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
