California migrant worker dies after falling from greenhouse while trying to run from ICE
Jaime Alanís was just one of the dozens of migrants working at Glass House Farms, a weed operation in Southern California, when ICE raided it on Thursday.
Amid the chaos of people running from smoke canisters and tear gas, Alanís fell off a greenhouse on the farm and broke his neck and skull.
He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and spent nearly two days on life support. The family confirmed he had died as of 4:38pm on Saturday.
'Jaime was not just a farmworker, he was a provider, and a human being who deserved dignity. His death is not an isolated tragedy. It is the result of a targeted raid at Glass House Farms,' the family wrote on Instagram.
'Workers were met not with protection, but with chaos and fear. Some were detained. Others were traumatized. Jaime lost his life,' they said.
'This cannot be swept under the rug. We are demanding answers from Glass House Farms. Calling on all legal and community organizations to investigate this raid.'
Yesenia Duran, Alanís's niece, has explained that he was the sole provider for his family back in Mexico.
Duran started a GoFundMe immediately after Alanís suffered his catastrophic injuries, and more than $127,000 has been raised as of Saturday evening.
The family said Alanís would be buried in Mexico if he didn't pull through.
The raid was on Glass House Farms, which employs hundreds of people and bills itself as the largest cannabis operation in the world.
Customs and Border Protection said it served a warrant on the Camarillo farm, accusing it of employing illegal migrant workers. ICE and the National Guard executed that warrant on Thursday.
Protestors showed up to impede federal agents, some of whom threw smoke canisters and flash bangs to control the growing crowd.
Once the smoke and tear gas was deployed, most of the protestors ran in the opposite direction, though some were seen throwing rocks at the agents.
The demonstration lasted past 11pm on Thursday, with federal agents remaining on the scene as well.
Video and photos from the scene showed ICE agents clashing with a crowd of more than 100 people - many of them farmworkers or their family members - who had initially formed a human blockade along the road.
It was a scene of absolute chaos, with protesters, farmworkers, and family members scattering throughout the fields.
In photos and videos that have been widely shared, one individual at the scene pointed a gun at federal agents and appeared to fire on them. Bill Essayli, the US Attorney for the Central District of California, said the alleged shooting happened at around 2:30pm on Laguna Road.
'FBI has issued a $50,000 award for information leading to the conviction of an Unknown Subject who appeared to fire a pistol at Federal Law Enforcement Officers near Camarillo,' he wrote on social media.
Things got so out of control at the farm that the Ventura County Fire Department was on the scene to provide treatment to people who were affected by tear gas or smoke inhalation.
'The Ventura County Fire Department was dispatched at approximately 12:15 pm on Thursday, July 10th to provide medical aid as a result of federal enforcement activity along Laguna Road in the Oxnard Plains,' the department said in a statement.
'VCFD was requested through our county's 911 system solely to provide medical aid and has no connection with any federal immigration enforcement actions.'
Although some have sought to cast the raid as a chaotic failure, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott revealed that 10 illegal juveniles were found working at the cannabis farm.
He then shared a photo of the kids they discovered, who were all sitting in front of five federal agents.
'These are the juveniles found in the marijuana facility - almost all unaccompanied, one as young as 14,' Scott said. 'California are you ready to partner with us to stop child exploitation?'
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