Worker in critical condition after US immigration raid on California farm
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, called demonstrators involved in attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents "slimeballs" and said they should be arrested.
In another development, a district judge ordered a halt to "roving patrols" in Los Angeles by federal agents who were detaining suspected undocumented migrants without probable cause and denying them due process.
District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered an end to the arrests, which she said were being made "based upon race alone," on whether a person was speaking Spanish or English with an accent or because of their place of work.
Trump's remarks and the court order come a day after a chaotic raid on a cannabis plantation in Ventura County some 56 miles (90 kilometers) from Los Angeles left one farm worker critically injured.
The United Farm Workers labor union had said in an X post on Friday that the worker had "died of injuries they sustained as a result of yesterday's immigration enforcement action." But the family on a GoFundMe page said he was in critical condition and unlikely to survive.
"He was chased by ICE agents, and we were told he fell 30ft (9 meters). My uncle's life is in critical condition; doctors have told us he won't make it. His injuries are catastrophic. His heart is still beating."
The Ventura County Medical Center, which told ABC News that he was in critical condition, did not respond to AFP calls for more details.
Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman, said he was never in custody.
"Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a green house and fell 30 feet," McLaughlin said. "(Customs and Border Patrol) immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible."
The DHS said 200 undocumented migrants were arrested during raids on marijuana growing sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo on Thursday and 10 children were rescued "from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking."
Glass House Brands, which owns the farms, said in a statement that it has "never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors."
AFP | BLAKE FAGAN
DHS said more than 500 "rioters" had attempted to disrupt the operation and four US citizens are facing charges for assaulting or resisting officers.
Tear gas was used against the protesters, some of whom were seen in television footage throwing projectiles at law enforcement vehicles.
The department said immigration agency vehicles were damaged and a $50,000 reward was being offered for the arrest of an individual who allegedly fired a gun at law enforcement officers.
- Showdown -
AFP | BLAKE FAGAN
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he had watched footage of "thugs" throwing rocks and bricks at ICE vehicles, causing "tremendous damage."
Trump said he was authorizing law enforcement officers who are "on the receiving end of thrown rocks, bricks, or any other form of assault, to stop their car, and arrest these SLIMEBALLS, using whatever means is necessary to do so."
"I am giving Total Authorization for ICE to protect itself, just like they protect the Public," he said.
Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to deport millions of migrants, has been involved in a showdown over immigration enforcement with Democratic-ruled California for weeks.
The Republican president sent thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles last month to quell protests against roundups of undocumented migrants by federal agents.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has said the troops were not necessary to address the mostly peaceful protests, but his legal efforts to have them removed have failed so far.
The cannabis farm in Camarillo was calm during a visit by an AFP reporter on Friday as workers waited in line to collect their belongings and paychecks.
AFP | Patrick T. Fallon
"We've been here since six this morning asking questions but they're not giving us any information," said Saul Munoz, a 43-year-old Colombian whose son was detained on Thursday.
"I just want to know how he's doing," Munoz said. "Bring him back to me and if it's time for us to leave, we'll leave.
"The truth is the American dream is no longer really the American dream."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
The National Dialogue must not be derailed by political gaslighting
AN ANC supporter with an election manifesto poster a election campaign meeting in Promosa, Potchefstroom on January 30, 1994. The democratic breakthrough of 1994 was not just a political event. It delivered the keys of the Republic to those long locked outside the gates of history, says the writer. Image: AFP Zamikhaya Maseti The 15th of August 2025 has been etched into the political calendar as a historic moment, the National Dialogue. At its most aspirational, it is meant to be a nation-defining platform, a civic summit for collective introspection, healing, and democratic recommitment. But even before its formal commencement, this national project risks being engulfed by the shallow political theatrics and elite tantrums that have paralysed genuine nation-building for far too long. Chief among the culprits is the Democratic Alliance (DA), which is now using the recent dismissal of Deputy Minister Andrew Whitfield, a figure occupying neither Cabinet status nor National Executive prominence, as a spark to fuel political hysteria. Let it be clear: this is not statesmanship. It is a political gaslighting strategy, a sophisticated act of deflection designed to distract South Africans from the essential questions we ought to be confronting. This political fracas, if anything, is a sobering reminder. It compels us, the ordinary and long-suffering South Africans, the real stakeholders in the future of this nation, to seize the agenda of the National Dialogue. We dare not allow it to be captured by those who wish to reduce this opportunity into a partisan tug-of-war. It must speak with bold honesty to the crises that are tearing our country limb from limb. South Africa, make no mistake, stands on the precipice of an abyss. What we are facing is not merely policy failure; it is the slow, corrosive disintegration of the national soul. Crime is no longer a statistic; it is a mode of life. Corruption is no longer a scandal; it is an ecosystem. Social cohesion, once the backbone of our fragile reconciliation, is unravelling under the weight of poverty, lawlessness, and deepening racial resentment. The rainbow has dimmed to a monochrome of despair and distrust. We are not yet a failed State. But with each passing day, with each institution that crumbles and each promise betrayed, we edge closer to that dreaded status. What once made South Africa the miracle of the world has now been bludgeoned by mediocrity, political cannibalism, and the fossilisation of revolutionary ideals. The May 29, 2024, General Elections offered perhaps the clearest mirror to our political malaise. Voter apathy was not apolitical. It was a mass indictment, a statement of no confidence in a political system that feels increasingly like an exclusive game played above the heads of the governed. People's faith in democracy is no longer low; it is at the ankles, dragging itself in the dust of betrayal. Therefore, it is not negotiable: the very first item on the agenda of the National Dialogue must be governance. Not in the abstract, but the brutally honest question: How have we been governed since 1994? When did the wheels fall off? At which exact moment did the promise of liberation give way to elite accumulation, State capture, and rudderless bureaucracy? Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading The democratic breakthrough of 1994 was not just a political event; it was a civilizational rupture. It delivered the keys of the Republic to those long locked outside the gates of history. The masses, the historically despised Third Estate, took to the streets in euphoric celebration, believing that their day under the sun had finally arrived. And it did, briefly. But somewhere between Kliptown and the Union Buildings, between The People Shall Govern and parliamentary privilege, the democratic vehicle began to wobble. The tyres of accountability deflated. The engine of ethical leadership began to cough and stall. The Dialogue must, therefore, perform a thorough diagnostic inspection of this vehicle, note every point of mechanical failure, and commit to firm, unapologetic, and irreversible repairs. Among the most urgent repairs is the deconstruction of the neo-patrimonial political culture that has infected our post-1994 polity. This culture, rooted in patronage, personality cults, and informal networks of loyalty, has turned public office into private inheritance and governance into transactional loyalty schemes. It must be dislodged root and branch if democracy is to breathe again. But systemic repair is not merely the work of the elite. A return to grassroots democracy is indispensable. The people, the ones who queued in '94 with trembling hope, must be brought back to the centre of governance, not as passive spectators but as active architects. Civil society, social movements, religious bodies, worker organisations, youth formations, these are not side actors; they are the real Parliament of the People. We must then reimagine citizenship, not as periodic voting, but as perpetual participation. The strengthening of civic institutions and the rebirth of an active citizenry is the only credible antidote to elite capture and democratic decay. Ultimately, the National Dialogue must restore the central promise uttered boldly 70 years ago in Kliptown: 'The People Shall Govern.' That is not a slogan. It is a covenant. And covenants, once broken, demand not just apologies but repair, repentance, and recommitment. Let us, therefore, put back the wheels that fell off the democratic vehicle. Let us take the Dialogue back from political actors playing hide-and-seek with our future. Let us, the people, write the next chapter of our nation, not with ink, but with intention. For if we do not steer the vehicle back onto the road, history will not be kind. And we will have no one to blame but ourselves. * Zamikhaya Maseti is a Political Economy Analyst with a Magister Philosophiae (M. PHIL) in South African Politics and Political Economy from the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE), now known as the Nelson Mandela University (NMU). ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
IOL News
14 hours ago
- IOL News
Boeing evades MAX crash trial with last-minute settlement
Boeing evades MAX crash trial with last-minute settlement. Image: AFP Boeing has reached a settlement with a man whose family died in a 737 MAX crash in 2019, a law firm told AFP on Friday, meaning the US aviation giant will avoid a federal trial slated for Monday. Paul Njoroge, who lost his wife and three children in the Ethiopian Airlines disaster in which 157 people died, was to seek damages from Boeing in a case in Chicago. "The case has settled for a confidential amount," said a spokesperson for Clifford Law, the firm representing Njoroge, whose mother-in-law also died in the crash. "The aviation team at Clifford Law Offices has been working round-the-clock in preparation for trial, but the mediator was able to help the parties come to an agreement on behalf of Paul Njoroge," added Robert Clifford, a senior partner at Clifford, in a statement. Until now, Boeing has succeeded in avoiding civil trials connected to the 737 MAX crashes of 2018 and 2019, reaching a series of settlements, sometimes only hours before trials were set to begin. The crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 on March 10, 2019 took place six minutes after departing Addis Ababa for Nairobi. Njoroge lost his wife Carolyne, who was 33, his mother-in-law Ann Karanja, and the couple's three children: six-year-old Ryan; Kelli, who was four; and nine-month-old Rubi. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Njoroge told a congressional panel in July 2019 he was haunted by ideas of the final moments of the flight, how his children "must have clung to their mother, crying, seeing the fright in her eyes." "It is difficult for me to think of anything else but the horror they must have felt," he said. "I cannot get it out of my mind." The trial set for Monday was expected to last five to seven days. Between April 2019 and March 2021, family members of 155 Boeing victims joined litigation charging the aviation giant with wrongful death and negligence. Boeing has accepted responsibility for the Ethiopian Airlines crash, blaming the design of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a flight handling system that malfunctioned. That system was also implicated in the Lion Air crash in 2018, when the 737 MAX 8 fell into the sea after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board. The Lion Air crash also spawned dozens of lawsuits in the United States. But as of July 2025, only one case remained open. Boeing has said it has reached out-of-court agreements with more than 90% of civil complainants in the MAX cases. The company also has a settlement pending that would resolve a long-running Department of Justice criminal probe connected to the MAX crashes. Some MAX families are contesting the Department of Justice's accord with Boeing, arguing that the company should face federal prosecution. US District Judge Reed O'Connor, in Texas, has yet to make a final decision on the proposed accord. AFP
eNCA
15 hours ago
- eNCA
Trump says Mexico, EU to face 30% tariff from Aug 1
President Donald Trump on Saturday targeted Mexico and the European Union with steep 30% tariffs, dramatically raising the stakes in already tense negotiations with two of the largest US trading partners. Both sets of duties would take effect August 1, Trump said in formal letters posted to his Truth Social platform. The president cited Mexico's role in illicit drugs flowing into the United States and a trade imbalance with the EU as meriting the tariff threat. The EU swiftly slammed the announcement, warning that it would disrupt supply chains, but insisted it would continue talks on a deal ahead of the deadline. Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has unleashed sweeping tariffs on allies and competitors alike, roiling financial markets and raising fears of a global economic downturn. But his administration is coming under pressure to secure deals with trading partners after promising a flurry of agreements. So far, US officials have only unveiled two pacts, with Britain and Vietnam, alongside temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties with China. The fresh duties for Mexico announced by Trump would be higher than the 25 percent levy he imposed on Mexican goods earlier this year, although products entering the United States under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) are exempted. "Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough," Trump said in his letter to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. "Starting August 1, 2025, we will charge Mexico a Tariff of 30% on Mexican products sent into the United States." The EU tariff is also markedly steeper than the 20% levy Trump unveiled in April, as negotiations with the bloc continue. "Imposing 30 percent tariffs on EU exports would disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement, in reply to Trump's letter to her. "We remain ready to continue working towards an agreement by August 1. At the same time, we will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required," she added. The EU, alongside dozens of other economies, had been set to see its US tariff level increase from a baseline of 10% on Wednesday, but Trump pushed back the deadline to August 1. Since the start of the week, Trump has sent out letters to more than 20 countries with updated tariffs for each, including a 35 percent levy for Canada. A US official has told AFP that the USMCA exemption was expected to remain for Canada. Brussels said Friday that it was ready to strike a deal with Washington to prevent the return of 20% levies. The EU has prepared retaliatory duties on US goods worth around 21 billion euros after Trump also slapped separate tariffs on steel and aluminum imports earlier this year, and they are suspended until July 14. European officials have not made any move to extend the suspension but could do it quickly if needed. "Despite all the movement toward a deal, this threat shows the EU is in the same camp of uncertainty as almost every other country in the world," said Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council. He told AFP that the path forward now depends on how the EU responds, calling it "one of the most precarious moments of the trade war so far." By Beiyi Seow
