California farmworker not subject of arrest dies hiding from ICE
SAN FRANCISCO—A cannabis plantation farmworker who fell from a greenhouse roof while hiding from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who were not after him died on Saturday of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis Garcia, 57, is the first person to die in one of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration operations. Yesenia Duran, Garcia’s niece, confirmed his death to The Associated Press (AP).
Duran has posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to a wife and daughter in Mexico.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants on Thursday at Glass House Farms facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria.
Last call
Garcia called family to say he was hiding before he fell about 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, the DHS said in a statement. Garcia 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.”
Conflicting report
The United Food Workers (UFW) said Garcia worked at the farm for 10 years.
“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 Garcia’s 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.
Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers,” according to the 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, many of whom attacked federal agents with rocks.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump border czar Tom Homan said protesters had the right to demonstrate but should not impede ICE agents from performing their jobs.
“What happened in California is another example of protesters “becoming criminals” who are “emboldened by even members of Congress who compare ICE to Nazis and racists and terrorists.”
He said the rhetoric has become so high that it has resulted in a loss of life, citing the death of a person in Texas who attacked a border patrol facility.
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.
