The immigration operation at two cannabis farms led to the detention of 361 Illegal Immigrants, and 14 unaccompanied minors being found.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made national headlines over the weekend due to a July 10 large-scale operation at two California cannabis farms. The enforcement action ended with hundreds taken into custody amid reports of ICE agents being fired upon.
In a July 11 statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that “Brave agents faced gunfire as they executed criminal search warrants at a marijuana facility.”
A later update from the department added the death of one farm worker and stated that agents rescued at least 14 illegal immigrant children and arrested over 360 illegal immigrants.
Both locations targeted were part of the cannabis operation Glass House Farms, which is a farm that also grows tomatoes and cucumbers.
The shooter is still at large, the agency said.
ICE’s enforcement is part of the fulfillment of the Trump administration’s promise to carry out mass deportation of those in the country illegally.
Operation
According to DHS, agents entered farms in Carpinteria and Camarillo, executing criminal warrants for illegal immigrants. During the raid, agents found at least 14 illegal immigrant children, according to the agency.
Shortly after the operation, the DHS’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, said that ICE and Customs and Border Protection rescued children from “what looks like exploitation, forced child labor, and potentially human trafficking or smuggling.”
In total, 361 illegal immigrants were arrested at the sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo.
A spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department, Andrew Dowd, told The Associated Press that at least 12 were injured during the raid and protest.
CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott posted a photo to X with the rescued minors’ faces blurred, stating: “These are the juveniles found in the marijuana facility—almost all unaccompanied, one as young as 14. California, are you ready to partner with us to stop child exploitation?”
These are the juveniles found in the marijuana facility – almost all unaccompanied, one as young as 14.
— CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott (@CBPCommissioner) July 11, 2025
California are you ready to partner with us to stop child exploitation? https://t.co/s6VATstZ4G pic.twitter.com/M96nR0gqoU
Arrests
According to DHS, several of those arrested were criminal illegal immigrants with dangerous histories, including Jose Orellana from El Salvador, who has already been convicted of driving under the influence of a controlled substance and a hit-and-run with property damage.
