
California farmworker who fell from greenhouse roof during chaotic ice raid dies
'These violent and cruel federal actions terrorize American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives, and separate families,' the union said recently in a statement on the social platform X. The UFW reported Alanis' death prematurely late Friday, but the Ventura County Medical Center later issued a statement authorized by the family saying he was still on life support.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants Thursday at Glass House Farms facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria. Garcia called family to say he was hiding and possibly was fleeing agents before he fell about 30 feet (9 meters) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital, and government sources. Agents arrested some 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, DHS said in a statement. Alanis was not among them, the agency said. 'This man was not in and has not been in CBP or ICE custody,' DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. 'Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30 feet. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.' Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly assaulting or resisting officers, according to DHS, and authorities were offering a 50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
During the raid, crowds of people gathered outside the facility in Camarillo to seek information about their relatives and protest immigration enforcement. Authorities clad in military-style helmets and uniforms faced off with the demonstrators, and people ultimately retreated amid acrid green and white billowing smoke. Glass House, a licensed California cannabis grower, said in a statement that immigration agents had valid warrants. The company said workers were detained, and it is helping provide them with legal representation. The farm also grows tomatoes and cucumbers. 'Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,' it said. The business is owned by Graham Farrar, a generous donor to California Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, a vocal critic of Republican President Donald Trump.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Al Arabiya
21 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
California farm raids shape up to be the biggest since january, trump administration says
Federal authorities now say they arrested more than 360 people at two Southern California marijuana farms last week, characterizing the raids as one of the largest operations since President Donald Trump took office in January. One farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof during the chaotic raids on Thursday after the Department of Homeland Security executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria northwest of Los Angeles. What happened? During the raid on the Camarillo site, crowds gathered seeking information about their relatives and to protest immigration enforcement. Authorities clad in military-style helmets and uniforms faced off with the demonstrators, and people ultimately retreated amid acrid green and white billowing smoke. Glass House Brands is a major cannabis company in California that started a decade ago with a greenhouse in the Santa Barbara County community of Carpinteria. The company said it later expanded, buying another facility in the Ventura County community of Camarillo that included six tomato and cucumber-growing greenhouses. Glass House converted two of them to grow cannabis, according to the company's website. Relatives of workers at the Camarillo site said tomatoes are still also grown at the location. The federal government initially reported that some 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally were arrested. Then on Saturday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said 319 people were arrested and said on X it was quickly becoming one of the largest operations since President Trump took office. A day later, the arrest numbers according to the Department of Homeland Security were up to 361 from the two locations. The government said four of the 361 arrested had prior criminal records, including convictions for rape and kidnapping. A farmworker who fell from a greenhouse roof during the raid at the farm in Camarillo died Saturday of his injuries. Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first known fatality during one of the Trump administration's ongoing immigration enforcement operations. Yesenia Duran, Alanis' niece, confirmed his death to The Associated Press. She posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe that her uncle was his family's only provider, and he had been sending his earnings back to a wife and daughter in Mexico. Alanis worked at the farm for 10 years, his family said. He called his wife in Mexico and told her he was hiding from federal agents during the raid Thursday. A doctor told his relatives the ambulance crew who took him to a hospital said he fell about 30 feet (9 meters), Duran said. Why was the business raided? The government says it is investigating potential child labor, human trafficking, and other abuse. Initially, DHS said 10 immigrant children were on the property. They later increased that number to 14. Authorities declined to share the warrant for the operation. The administration has released no additional information about the children, including their ages and what they were doing on the property when authorities arrived. DHS has not provided details to back up its claim of possible trafficking or other abuse, and the company has not been charged with anything. It was unclear if any of the minors were the children of farm workers at the sites or if they came to the US without an adult. Federal and state laws allow children as young as 12 to work in agriculture under certain conditions, according to the US Department of Labor. In California, children as young as 12 can work on farms outside of school hours, while those as young as 16 can work during school hours if they are not required to attend school, the agency said on its website. No one under the age of 21 is allowed to work in the cannabis industry. The California Department of Cannabis Control conducted a site visit in May 2025 and observed no minors on the premises, a spokesman said. After receiving a subsequent complaint, the state opened an investigation to ensure full compliance with state law. Four US citizens were arrested during the raids for allegedly assaulting or resisting officers, according to DHS, and authorities were offering a 50000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents. Among those arrested was California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello, US Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X. Essayli said Caravello was arrested for throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement and was to appear in court Tuesday. The California Faculty Association said Caravello was taken away by agents who did not identify themselves nor inform him of why he was being arrested. The association said he was then held without being able to contact his family. Caravello was attempting to dislodge a tear gas canister that was stuck underneath someone's wheelchair, witnesses told KABC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Los Angeles. Separately, the federal Bureau of Prisons said George Retes, 25, was in their custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles from Thursday to Sunday. Retes' family told KABC-TV on Sunday that he is a US citizen, works as a security guard at the farm in Camarillo, and is a disabled US Army veteran. They said Retes was trying to drive away during the clashes between protesters and agents when an officer stopped him, broke his car window, and shot pepper spray before dragging him out of his car and arresting him. Retes' sister, Destinee Magaña, told the television station on Sunday that the family had been trying to get in touch with her brother. Federal agents thought he was probably part of the protest, but he wasn't; he was trying to reverse his car, Magaña said. Neither Retes nor Magaña responded to emails Monday from The Associated Press seeking comment.


Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Nfl legend John Elway won't be charged in golf cart accident that killed former agent Jeff Sperbeck
LA QUINTA, Calif. – NFL Hall of Famer John Elway will not be charged after his business partner, Jeffrey Sperbeck, was fatally injured falling out of his golf cart at a Southern California golf resort community last April, authorities said. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told KUSA-TV in Denver on Friday that investigators found nothing criminal and ruled it a tragic accident. Sperbeck, Elway's partner and former agent, died after suffering an injury when he tumbled out of a golf cart driven by the former quarterback on April 26 at The Madison Club in La Quinta, east of Los Angeles. Sperbeck was 62. For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Sperbeck's cause of death was blunt force trauma, and the manner of death was an accident that occurred when the passenger fell from the golf cart, the county coroner's report said. 'I've looked at video 100 times, and there's no explanation as to why he fell off; he just fell off,' Bianco said. Elway didn't immediately comment on the findings. He said in an April statement that he was devastated by the death of his close friend. 'There are no words to truly express the profound sadness I feel with the sudden loss of someone who has meant so much to me,' Elway said at the time. Elway's April statement did not address his presence at the scene. Sperbeck began managing Elway in 1990 when Elway was quarterback for the Denver Broncos. He represented more than 100 NFL players during a three-decade career as an agent and business advisor. He was best known as Elway's partner who helped manage the Hall of Famer's extensive off-field business empire, which included restaurants, car dealerships, and a winery.


Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump administration defends immigration tactics after California worker death
Federal officials on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's escalating campaign to deport immigrants in the US illegally, including a California farm raid that left one worker dead, and said the administration would appeal a ruling to halt some of its more aggressive tactics. Trump has vowed to deport millions of people in the country illegally and has executed raids at work sites including farms that were largely exempted from enforcement during his first term. The administration has faced dozens of lawsuits across the country for its tactics. Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem and Trump's border czar Tom Homan said on Sunday that the administration would appeal a federal judge's Friday ruling that blocked the administration from detaining immigrants based solely on racial profiling and denying detained people the right to speak with a lawyer. In interviews with Fox News and NBC, Noem criticized the judge, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden, and denied that the administration had used the tactics described in the lawsuit. 'We will appeal, and we will win,' she said in an interview on 'Fox News Sunday.' Homan said on CNN's 'State of the Union' that physical characteristics could be one factor among multiple that would establish a reasonable suspicion that a person lacked legal immigration status, allowing federal officers to stop someone. During a chaotic raid and resulting protests on Thursday at two sites of a cannabis farm in Southern California, 319 people in the US illegally were detained and federal officers encountered 14 migrant minors, Noem said on NBC News' 'Meet the Press.' The Department of Homeland Security later increased the total number of arrests to 361. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on X late on Sunday that the Justice Department was reviewing the actions of protesters during the raid, including Democratic US Representative Salud Carbajal of California. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency earlier accused of Carbajal in a social media post of sharing an ICE employee's business card with members of what it called a 'violent mob.' Carbajal said he witnessed federal agents using what he described as unreasonable force against demonstrators and farm workers. 'I witnessed agents, in full military gear, fire smoke canisters and other projectiles into a crowd of peaceful civilians,' Carbajal wrote on X. Workers were injured during the raid and one later died from his injuries, according to the United Farm Workers. Homan told CNN that the farmworker's death was tragic but that ICE officers were doing their jobs and executing criminal search warrants. 'It's always unfortunate when there's deaths,' he said. US Senator Alex Padilla said on CNN that federal agents are using racial profiling to arrest people. Padilla, a California Democrat and the son of Mexican immigrants, was forcibly removed from a Noem press conference in Los Angeles in June and handcuffed after trying to ask a question. Padilla said he had spoken with the UFW about the farmworker who died in the ICE raid. He said a steep arrest quota imposed by the Trump administration in late May had led to more aggressive and dangerous enforcement. 'It's causing ICE to get more aggressive, more cruel, more extreme, and these are the results,' Padilla said. 'It's people dying.'