Over 300 people were arrested Thursday at two immigration enforcement operations at farms in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced Saturday that federal agents arrested 319 people during the operations at Glass House Farms near Camarillo and Carpinteria.
“I was just given an update on Thursday’s operation at the marijuana facility in California. @DHSgov law enforcement rescued 14 children from potential forced labor, exploitation, and trafficking. They arrested 319 illegal aliens. They faced assaults, violence, and even bullets fired at them. Thank you to the brave men and women of @ICEgov and @CBP law enforcement. This is quickly becoming one of the largest operations since President Trump took office,” wrote Noem.
DHS said the law enforcement activity was part of an investigation into immigration and potential child labor violations.
Families were searching for loved ones Friday after hundreds were detained during an immigration enforcement raid at a farm in Camarillo. Karma Dickerson reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on July 11, 2025.
During a standoff that went on for hours near Camarillo, agents clashed with protesters on roads surrounded by sprawling farm fields in the community northwest of Los Angeles. Four people were arrested on suspicion of assaulting or resisting officers, the DHS said.
Video showed several white vans, similar to those seen at other immigration enforcement operations in Southern California, and at least one U.S. Marshals Service bus at the scene. Details about where the detained individuals were taken were not immediately available.
The FBI also issued a $50,000 reward for a person armed with a gun who appeared to open fire during one of the altercations. No injuries related to gunfire were reported.
More details about the allegations included in the warrants were not immediately available, but the DHS said information will be released as the investigation continues.
“At the California marijuana facilities, ICE and CBP law enforcement rescued at least 10 migrant children from what looks like exploitation, forced child labor, and potentially human trafficking or smuggling. Our law enforcement also arrested nearly 200 illegal aliens,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “During the operation, a violent agitator fired a gun at our brave officers. While ICE and CBP officers are being assaulted by rioters and dodging bullets to save children, Sanctuary politicians are demonizing ICE and CBP. We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who assaults or doxes federal law enforcement.”
Glass House Farms said on social media that it was visited Thursday by officials for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and “fully complied with agent search warrants.” State records show the company has multiple active licenses to cultivate cannabis in California, where it is legal to do so with proper licensing.
The United Farm Workers labor union said it is aware of reports of child labor at the site.
“The UFW is also aware of reports of child labor on site. The UFW demands the immediate facilitation of independent legal representation for the minor workers, to protect them from further harm,” the union said in a statement. “Farm workers are excluded from basic child labor laws. It is unfortunately not uncommon for teenagers to work in the fields. To be clear: detaining and deporting children is not a solution for child labor.”
Several states, including California, have agricultural child labor laws that are different from federal rules. In California, the minimum age for agricultural employment outside school hours is 12, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, but the state also has a set of rules for cannabis cultivation that include an age requirement of 21.
Details about the ages of the children found at the farm were not immediately available.
Multiple people were injured during the operation, including a farm worker who fell 30 feet from a roof during the immigration enforcement operation in Ventura County.
The man was hospitalized in critical condition after suffering a broken neck, broken skull and a severed artery, said a niece. He was hospitalized at Ventura County Medical Center where he remains in critical condition, the family says.
In response to Thursday’s operations, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office issued a statement.
“Instead of supporting the businesses and workers that drive our economy and way of life, Stephen Miller’s tactics evoke chaos, fear and terror within our communities at every turn,” Newsom’s office said. “At Miller’s direction, Trump’s agents continue to detain U.S. citizens and racially profile Americans, ripping families apart and disappearing parents and workers into cruel federal detention centers to meet their self-imposed arrest quotas.”
In a response to a post on X by CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott about the child labor violation allegations, Gov. Newsom said Friday, “We prosecute criminals that break child labor laws. You make the kids pose for photos, tear gas them, and promote laws like this.”
Federal immigration enforcement agents have ramped up arrests in Southern California, carrying out operations at car washes, farms and home improvement store parking lots. The Trump administration has activated the National Guard to protect federal properties and personnel, and several Guard members and vehicles were seen near Camarillo.
More than 55,000 migrants nationwide have been taken into ICE custody over the past six months, according to data compiled by NBC News. About 28 percent have criminal convictions with about 25 percent having pending criminal charges. About 47 percent were listed as “other immigration violator.”
California is home to 10.6 million immigrants, more than any other state, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. The Pew Research Center estimates that 1.8 million immigrants in California were undocumented in 2022, a figure that dropped from 2.8 million in 2007.
At least half of the estimated 255,700 farmworkers in California are undocumented, according to UC Merced Research.