Federal agents reportedly arrested nearly 400 individuals last week during coordinated raids on cannabis cultivation sites in Southern California, in what authorities described as one of the largest immigration enforcement operations in recent years.
The Department of Homeland Security said the operation targeted licensed marijuana farms in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, where officials allege illegal labor practices, including the employment of undocumented workers and potential human trafficking.
Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection executed warrants at multiple locations early Thursday morning.
According to federal officials, 361 individuals were detained on suspicion of being in the country unlawfully. Among them were more than a dozen minors, some reportedly as young as 14, whom authorities say may have been trafficked or forced into labor.
The raids were met with chaos and resistance. At the larger of the two sites, located near Camarillo, several hundred individuals gathered in protest.
Some reportedly threw rocks and other objects at federal agents. Tear gas was deployed, and officials said they are investigating at least one incident in which a firearm was discharged at law enforcement officers.
Authorities are offering a monetary reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect caught on video allegedly firing at agents during the unrest.
Images captured at the scene showed minors stumbling through rows of greenhouses, shielding their faces from clouds of gas. Officials said the conditions under which many workers were found raised serious concerns, with inadequate sanitation, makeshift housing, and signs of forced labor.
The operation has reignited political tensions over immigration enforcement and the use of federal power.
California officials, including the governor, condemned the raids as excessive and harmful, particularly in light of the presence of minors on-site. Local representatives criticized what they described as militarized tactics and questioned the timing of the operation.
Federal officials, however, defended the raids, citing criminal backgrounds among some of those detained, including individuals with outstanding warrants for violent crimes.
They said the farms were under investigation not only for immigration violations but also for possible links to organized crime and labor exploitation.
The episode marks a flashpoint in the ongoing clash between state and federal authorities over immigration policy and raises broader questions about oversight in California’s booming cannabis industry, where regulatory gaps continue to expose vulnerable workers to exploitation.
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