Latest news with #GeorgeRetes
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
A US citizen and Army veteran was detained at an immigration raid and held for 3 days. His family scrambled to find him
George Retes, a 25-year-old Army veteran and father of two, had been planning his three-year-old daughter's Minnie Mouse birthday party at the park for weeks. He would get her an inflatable bounce house, invite the whole family and shower her with gifts and treats. She was excited for the fun party and he was excited to see the smile on her face, he said. Those plans fell apart last week when Retes – a US citizen – was detained by federal immigration agents during an immigration raid and protest at a legal Southern California marijuana farm where he worked. Left injured and burned from pepper spray and tear gas, Retes was detained for three days without explanation, he said. His wife, who couldn't reach him during his detention, was scrambling to find out where her husband had been taken. And Retes missed the party he and his toddler had been dreaming about. Instead of seeing flickering birthday candles and hearing children's laughter on his daughter's birthday, the father found himself alone in a cell with bright lights that never turned off, his skin burning and limbs aching. As he laid on a thin mattress covering a cement slab, he wondered if he would ever see his family again. 'All I wanted was to be there for my daughter's birthday … I was so excited to watch her turn three and just enjoy her day and just watch her be happy for her day,' Retes told CNN. 'And it sucked not being there.' The arrest unfolded on July 10 when federal immigration officers carried out large-scale raids at two Glass House marijuana farms in Carpinteria and Camarillo and arrested over 300 people – part of an ongoing trend of immigration enforcement at worksites like farms and construction sites that have struck fear into immigrant communities. That day, Retes says he woke up and drove to work like he would any other day, not knowing there was unrest at his workplace. When he arrived at Glass House Farms in Camarillo – where he works as a contract security guard – he was met with throngs of protesters, cars piled up in the middle of the road and people standing in the street. He made his way through the crowd and was confronted by a barricade of agents blocking anyone from going into Glass House, he recounted. The Department of Homeland Security said Immigration Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection officers were executing warrants at the marijuana grow sites and were met with hundreds of protesters. He got out of his car and walked up to the agents to let them know he's an American citizen who's just trying to get to work. 'I didn't think it was gonna be a problem for me to go to work … as long as I identified myself and let them know what I was trying to do,' he said. The agents refused to listen to him, Retes said, so he returned to his car. That's when he says the situation escalated: The agents surrounded his car and started yelling conflicting orders to get out of his car, reverse and park his car, according to the father. Retes then reversed, trying to leave the tense scene, he said. Agents continued yelling, banged on his window and pulled on his door trying to get it open, he said. The uniformed federal agents eventually threw what appeared to be tear gas into the crowd of protesters, which blurred Retes' vision and made him choke. 'I'm trying to leave. I'm trying to get out of here,' Retes said he told the agents in between gasping breaths. At that moment, one agent shattered his driver's side window, and another sprayed pepper spray in his face, Retes said, recalling feeling a piece of glass from the window cut his leg. Then, they dragged him out of the car and threw him on the ground, pinning him down, he said. 'I had one agent kneeling on my back and another one kneeling on my neck,' said Retes, who noted he had neck and back injuries from his four-year Army service. Retes recalled telling officers he couldn't breathe because of the pepper spray and tear gas. But he said they proceeded to put him in handcuffs and dragged him away without explaining what he was arrested for. The Department of Homeland Security would later accuse Retes of assault – an allegation he vehemently denies. 'I just had no clue what was gonna happen to me,' Retes said. Retes became one of a number of US citizens and legal permanent residents detained or arrested in the tense raids amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown – with some arrested without explanation and with no way to contact their families, immigrant advocacy groups say. Shows of force and clashes between immigration officers and protesters at raid sites have become periodical occurrences in the Los Angeles area as more people oppose the federal government's immigration enforcement actions. An EMT wrapped Retes' leg wound in gauze before the father was escorted into an unmarked SUV and taken to an empty field, where there were federal agents from several agencies, Retes said. Agents took his fingerprints and photos. And when Retes asked why he was detained, the agents wouldn't answer him, he recounted. 'They never told me anything … I sat there for hours asking them why I was here, why I'm being arrested, and no one could give me an answer,' Retes said. 'No one even knew who arrested me or why they arrested me. No one knew what was going to happen to me or who I was even going to go with.' Retes was eventually driven to downtown Los Angeles' Metropolitan Detention Center, where he was held by the US Marshals Service, online records show. He was booked, given prison clothes and placed in a holding cell with a professor who was detained during immigration protests that same day, Retes said. On Friday morning, Retes filled out his intake form and answered questions from the medical staff about his childhood, past and his life now. Based on his answers, they determined he should be put on suicide watch, where he remained alone in a cell with bright lights that never turned off, according to Retes. Guards were always outside his cell and a psychiatrist checked on him once a day to ensure he wouldn't harm himself, he said. In the cell for days, Retes was never told why he was arrested or if he was charged with any crimes, he said. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told CNN in a statement on Sunday that Retes had not been charged. The US Attorney's Office told CNN Friday it would not be pressing charges against Retes. McLaughlin later said Retes was detained for alleged assault, but did not provide details on the accusation. 'As CBP and ICE agents were executing criminal search warrants on July 10 at the marijuana facility in Camarillo, CA, George Retes—a U.S. citizen—became violent and refused to comply with law enforcement,' McLaughlin said Thursday. 'He challenged agents and blocked their route by refusing to move his vehicle out of the road.' Retes denies the agency's allegations. 'I would like to see where I assaulted an officer, and if that's true, why wasn't I charged?' he said. 'They could lie all they want. That's not what happened.' CNN has reached out to the US Marshals and US Customs and Border Protection for comment. Glass House said last week it received immigration and naturalization warrants on the day of the raids. 'As per the law, we verified that the warrants were valid and we complied. Workers were detained and we are assisting to provide them legal representation,' Glass House said in a statement. Retes described his detention as 'depressing, very confusing' and said he was 'so lost' for those three long days. In pain from his injured leg and burning skin, all he could think of as he was stuck alone in the cell was that he would miss his daughter's third birthday. 'I was there with my thoughts the entire time, wondering if I was ever going to get out, if anyone ever even knew my story or what had happened to me,' he said. 'I just thought I was never gonna see my kids again.' Though tear gas and pepper spray burned his eyes and skin, he was never given a chance to shower, he said. With an intense burning pain in his arms and legs, it was impossible for Retes to sleep on what he described as a cement block with a thin mattress and thin blanket, he said. And he never received medical care for the gash on his leg, even after he pleaded for it, Retes said. During his detention, Retes wasn't able to speak with an attorney or call his wife to let her know where he was, he said, adding that no one else called to let his loved ones know where he was. 'They didn't give them any information about where I was at,' he said. 'Any agency they called they were just giving them the runaround.' Meanwhile, his wife was calling anybody she could to find out where her husband was taken and speaking with local news stations through tears. 'I just don't know where he's at. I've been up since 6 a.m. trying to call the sheriff's, the police department, Oxnard, Camarillo, Ventura… They say they don't know,' his wife Guadalupe Torres told CNN affiliate KABC on Friday. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, which runs the Metropolitan Detention Center, declined to comment Friday on the conditions of Retes' confinement, citing privacy and security reasons, but told CNN in a statement that 'all individuals in BOP custody, regardless of housing assignment, are continually encouraged to maintain contact with loved ones, friends, and outside resources.' 'Each individual is independently treated on a case-by-case basis, and treatment is provided as clinically indicated, including referrals to specialists,' the statement read, in part. Finally, on Sunday, Retes was told he would be released and was walked downstairs, where he signed for his belongings and was told he was free to leave, the father recalled. 'So I basically was locked up for no reason, and missed my daughter's birthday for no reason?' Retes said he asked the guards. He says he was met with silence. Once he was outside, Retes was happy to feel the fresh air and the sun against his skin, he said. His wife picked him up and the couple headed to his parents' house to see their young daughter and eight-year-old son. 'I felt relieved to see a familiar face, and just at that moment when I saw her, I knew it was real that I was finally out,' Retes said of reuniting with his wife. Once they arrived at the house, the first thing Retes did was run up to his kids and hug them. They ran into his arms screaming 'Dad,' he said. 'It was the best thing ever, that feeling I'll never forget. It was so nice to finally … hold them,' Retes said. 'They were just really happy that I was out and that I was okay … it kind of just eased all their minds,' Retes said of his wife and children. 'We're just kind of trying to take it one day at a time.' But Retes – who said he joined the Army when he was 18 and was deployed in Iraq in 2019 – said he and his family are still in distress about the events of July 10. 'No one deserves to be treated the way I did,' he said. 'It shouldn't even matter if I'm a veteran, it shouldn't matter if I'm a US citizen or the color of my skin, or if I'm here illegally or I'm an immigrant.' Retes said he apologized to his daughter for missing her birthday. Because she's so young, he was unable to explain to her why he was gone, he said. 'It's just something that I'm gonna have to live with for the rest of my life,' he said. CNN's Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.
National Post
17-07-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Army veteran and U.S. citizen arrested in California immigration raid warns it could happen to anyone
Article content 'George Retes was arrested and has been released,' she said. 'He has not been charged. The U.S. Attorney's Office is reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal charges related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo.' Article content A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests without warrants in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocates accused federal agents of detaining people because they looked Latino. The Justice Department appealed on Monday and asked for the order to be stayed. Article content The Pentagon also said Tuesday it was ending the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles. That's roughly half the number the administration sent to the city following protests over the immigration actions. Some of those troops have been accompanying federal agents during their immigration enforcement operations. Article content Article content Retes said he joined the Army at 18 and served four years, including deploying to Iraq in 2019. Article content 'I joined the service to help better myself,' he said. 'I did it because I love this (expletive) country. We are one nation and no matter what, we should be together. All this separation and stuff between everyone is just the way it shouldn't be.' Article content Retes said he plans to sue for wrongful detention. Article content 'The way they're going about this entire deportation process is completely wrong, chasing people who are just working, especially trying to feed everyone here in the U.S.,' he said. 'No one deserves to be treated the way they treat people.' Article content Retes was detained along with California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello, also a U.S. citizen, who was arrested for throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X. Article content The California Faculty Association said Caravello was taken away by agents who did not identify themselves nor inform him of why he was being taken into custody. Like Retes, the association said the professor was then held without being allowed to contact his family or an attorney. Article content 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. Article content A federal judge on Monday ordered Caravello to be released on $15,000 bond. He's scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 1. Article content 'I want everyone to know what happened. This doesn't just affect one person,' Retes said. 'It doesn't matter if your skin is brown. It doesn't matter if you're white. It doesn't matter if you're a veteran or you serve this country. They don't care. They're just there to fill a quota.' Article content
CTV News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Army veteran and U.S. citizen arrested in California immigration raid warns it could happen to anyone
U.S. immigration agents talk to Rebecca Torres, second left, after she tried to block a military vehicle during a raid in the agriculture area of Camarillo, Calif., Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker) A U.S. Army veteran who was arrested during an immigration raid at a Southern California marijuana farm last week said Wednesday he was sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray before being dragged from his vehicle and pinned down by federal agents who arrested him. George Retes, 25, who works as a security guard at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, said he was arriving at work on July 10 when several federal agents surrounded his car and — despite him identifying himself as a U.S. citizen — broke his window, peppered sprayed him and dragged him out. 'It took two officers to nail my back and then one on my neck to arrest me even though my hands were already behind my back,' Retes said. Massive farm raids led to hundreds being detained The Ventura City native was detained during chaotic raids at two Southern California farms where federal authorities arrested more than 360 people, one of the largest operations since President Donald Trump took office in January. Protesters faced off against federal agents in military-style gear, and one farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof. The raids came more than a month into an extended immigration crackdown by the Trump administration across Southern California that was originally centered in Los Angeles, where local officials say the federal actions are spreading fear in immigrant communities. California Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke on the raids at a news conference Wednesday, calling Trump a 'chaos agent' who has incited violence and spread fear in communities. 'You got someone who dropped 30 feet because they were scared to death and lost their life,' he said, referring to the farmworker who died in the raids. 'People are quite literally disappearing with no due process, no rights.' Retes was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where he said he was put in a special cell on suicide watch and checked on each day after he became emotionally distraught over his ordeal and missing his 3-year-old daughter's birthday party Saturday. He said federal agents never told him why he was arrested or allowed him to contact a lawyer or his family during his three-day detention. Authorities never let him shower or change clothes despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, Retes said, adding that his hands burned throughout the first night he spent in custody. On Sunday, an officer had him sign a paper and walked him out of the detention center. He said he was told he faced no charges. Retes met with silence when seeking explanation 'They gave me nothing I could wrap my head around,' Retes said, explaining that he was met with silence on his way out when he asked about being 'locked up for three days with no reason and no charges.' Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed Retes' arrest but didn't say on what charges. 'George Retes was arrested and has been released,' she said. 'He has not been charged. The U.S. Attorney's Office is reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal charges related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo.' A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests without warrants in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocates accused federal agents of detaining people because they looked Latino. The Justice Department appealed on Monday and asked for the order to be stayed. The Pentagon also said Tuesday it was ending the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles. That's roughly half the number the administration sent to the city following protests over the immigration actions. Some of those troops have been accompanying federal agents during their immigration enforcement operations. Retes said he joined the Army at 18 and served four years, including deploying to Iraq in 2019. 'I joined the service to help better myself,' he said. 'I did it because I love this (expletive) country. We are one nation and no matter what, we should be together. All this separation and stuff between everyone is just the way it shouldn't be.' Veteran pledges to sue federal authorities for his ordeal Retes said he plans to sue for wrongful detention. 'The way they're going about this entire deportation process is completely wrong, chasing people who are just working, especially trying to feed everyone here in the U.S.,' he said. 'No one deserves to be treated the way they treat people.' Retes was detained along with California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello, also a U.S. citizen, who was arrested for throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X. The California Faculty Association said Caravello was taken away by agents who did not identify themselves nor inform him of why he was being taken into custody. Like Retes, the association said the professor was then held without being allowed to contact his family or an attorney. 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. A federal judge on Monday ordered Caravello to be released on US$15,000 bond. He's scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 1. 'I want everyone to know what happened. This doesn't just affect one person,' Retes said. 'It doesn't matter if your skin is brown. It doesn't matter if you're white. It doesn't matter if you're a veteran or you serve this country. They don't care. They're just there to fill a quota.' ___ Associated Press writer Jamie Ding contributed from Los Angeles. Olga R. Rodriguez, The Associated Press
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Army vet calls for investigation after being detained for three days in ICE raid
A U.S. Army veteran who was detained during the massive immigration raid in Ventura County last week said Wednesday that he wants 'a full investigation' into how he could have been held behind bars for three days despite being an American citizen. 'What happened to me wasn't just a mistake,' he said in a written statement. 'It was a violation of my civil rights. It was excessive force.' At a news conference Wednesday, George Retes, who is 25 and the father of two children, said he had been on his way to his job as a security guard at Glass House farms on July 10 when 'I got caught in the middle between protesters and [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents.' Retes had been focused on his 3-year-old daughter's upcoming birthday party and didn't realize that Glass House, one of the largest legal cannabis operations in California, was being raided by scores of heavily armed immigration agents. Read more: Immigration raid at cannabis farm in Ventura County sparks chaotic protest Officials with the Department of Homeland Security later said they detained more than 360 people in the raid, including numerous undocumented immigrants who had been charged with crimes. As agents moved through the company's greenhouses, many workers fled in a panic. One worker, Jaime Alanis Garcia, 56, died after he fell three stories while trying to evade capture. Protesters and family members of workers, meanwhile, massed at the Glass House gates on Laguna Road, squaring off against federal agents, who deployed chemical agents and less-lethal ammunition. Retes said he had worked at Glass House as a contractor for the security firm Securitas for seven months. He said he unwittingly headed straight into that melee as he drove down Laguna Road to report for his afternoon shift. 'I had no clue about it,' he said. 'When I pulled up, I saw all the cars, I saw all the traffic, and I was just trying to make my way through.' He did not get to work. Instead, he said, agents smashed his car window, pepper-sprayed him and dragged him out at gunpoint. 'I let ICE agents know that I'm a U.S. Citizen, that I'm American,' he said. 'They didn't care. They never told me my charges. They sent me away.' Read more: Details emerge about pot-farm immigration raid as worker dies Retes, who served in Iraq, said agents never told him why he was being detained at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. He was packed off, without a phone call, access to a lawyer, or even a way to clean the pepper-spray residue off his clothes and face, he said. While in custody, Retes said, he became so distressed that he was put on suicide watch, but he was still not allowed to contact an attorney. His sister and wife meanwhile gave tearful interviews to local television stations, pleading for information as to his whereabouts. "We don't know what to do," his sister Destinee Majana told KABC-TV Channel 7 last week. "We're just asking to let my brother go. He's a U.S. citizen. He didn't do anything wrong. He's a veteran, disabled citizen. It says it on his car." "I just don't know where he's at. I've been up since 6 a.m. trying to call the sheriff's, the police department, Oxnard, Camarillo, Ventura,' added his wife, Guadalupe Torres. 'They say they don't know.' Finally, on Sunday, Retes said, guards came to his cell and told him he was going to be released. 'An officer walked me downstairs,' he recalled. "I signed a paper to get my stuff back. That was it. They let me go.' In a statement, officials at the Department of Homeland Security said: 'George Retes was arrested and has been released. He has not been charged. The [U.S. attorney's office] is reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal charges related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo.' Retes said he is home in Ventura now, spending time with his children and 'enjoying being free. I took that for granted.' He recovered his car, which he said still has a smashed window, numerous dents and a sharp tang of pepper spray. But he said he plans to file a lawsuit against the government over the way he was treated. 'What they did isn't right,' he said. 'I'm here speaking for everyone who doesn't have a chance to speak.' Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CBS News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Immigration agents release Army veteran detained during Camarillo farm raid
A U.S. Army veteran detained during the immigration raid at a Ventura County marijuana farm last week said he plans to file a lawsuit against the federal government after agents held him in custody for three days. George Retes, 25, served in the Army for four years and deployed to Iraq. He was driving to work his security guard shift at Glass House Farms in Camarillo on July 10 when he encountered federal agents conducting an immigration operation. He was next to the marijuana facility when protesters clashed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. The Department of Homeland Security said the U.S. Customs and Border Protection was serving a search warrant at the farm. Retes tried to speak with the agents but said they ignored him. "They ignored me," Retes said. "They didn't care what I had to say. They automatically accused me of just, I guess, doing something wrong. They escalated it from there." Video from a CBS News Los Angeles photographer at the scene showed a line of agents telling the crowd to move back and disperse before they began deploying what appeared to be less-than-lethal rounds and tear gas canisters. Retes said agents shouted conflicting commands and smashed his window before he could understand what was happening. The veteran said they sprayed him with pepper spray and deployed gas before dragging him out of his car at gunpoint. "They took two officers to kneel on my back and then one on my neck to arrest me, even though my hands were already behind my back and I was covered in [pepper spray,]" Retes said. Retes said they held him in federal custody for three days without charges. At the facility, agents did not provide him with medical care, nor did they allow him to contact his family or an attorney, according to Retes. He said he missed his daughter's third birthday. "They didn't allow me to shower, didn't give me a phone call, didn't let me speak to an attorney," Retes said. "My hands burned the entire night. I wasn't able to sleep. Even after I got home and showered, I still had [pepper spray] residue." Retes said agents never explained why he was arrested and ignored him when he said he was a U.S. citizen heading to work. DHS officials said more than 300 immigrants were arrested during the raid on the Camarillo farm and another facility in Carpinteria. Agents said there were at least 10 undocumented children at the facilities. They launched an investigation into possible child labor, exploitation and human trafficking charges. "The way they're going about this entire deportation process is completely wrong," Retes said. "It doesn't matter if you're an immigrant. It doesn't matter the color of your skin. It doesn't matter if you voted left. It doesn't matter if you voted right. It doesn't matter if you're black, brown, yellow, green. No one deserves to be treated this way. That shouldn't have happened. And I hope this never happens to anyone ever again." RELATED: Federal judge orders ICE to halt immigration raids in Southern California
