He was ‘trying to stay alive.' Family memorializes man who died in Camarillo immigration raid

Los Angeles Times

6 days ago

Oxnard — In a ceremony that ended in tears and hugs, the family of Jaime Alanís Garcia said goodbye to the father of one who died after trying to escape from federal agents during an immigration raid at the Glass House Farms in Camarillo.
Dozens of Alanís Garcia's family members, friends and community members attended the wake at the Camino del Sol Funeral Home in Oxnard. Family members remembered him as a joyful, hardworking man whose death came too soon.
'He was hiding, trying to stay alive,' said his niece, Yesenia Duran. 'He was loved by the community.'
On July 10, federal immigration agents raided two cannabis greenhouse operations owned by Glass House Farms, setting off an intense, hours-long standoff between federal agents and protesters outside of the company's Camarillo site. More than 300 undocumented workers were detained, federal officials said, and protesters were injured after agents outside the property shot off tear gas canisters and less-lethal bullets.
Alanís Garcia, 56, was fatally injured when he climbed atop a greenhouse and accidentally fell 30 feet while fleeing immigration agents at Glass House, his family said. He was taken to the Ventura County Medical Center, where he was put on life support. Duran announced his death on July 12.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has weighed in, saying that the government would consider legal action against the U.S. after his death.
'This is unacceptable,' she said.
The Department of Homeland Security has said that Alanís Garcia was not among those being pursued and that federal agents called in a medevac for him.
Duran pushed back on that narrative, saying that they were waiting for more answers and witnesses into her uncle's death. 'It was a reckless raid,' she said, one that cost her uncle his life.
On Monday, the body of Alanís Garcia rested in a brown casket with white trim, his head covered by a black beanie. His casket was surrounded by dozens of red roses, a hand drawn photo of him surrounded by monarch butterflies and a large arrangement of white flowers in the shape of a cross, a gift from his wife and daughter in Mexico. They are scheduled to soon receive his body, when he is returned to his native country.
Isaac Alanis, 28, grew up living near Alanís Garcia, who was his mother's cousin, and came to see him as an uncle. Alanís Garcia would come over for dinner after work nearly every night, around 6 p.m., and he loved all kinds of foods, from menudo and pozole to Chinese food, which he would eat with a fork, because he didn't know how to use chopsticks, Alanis said.
Before arriving at Glass House, Alanís Garcia spent 10 years working at a flower nursery, Alanis said.
Sometimes, he said, he would join Alanís Garcia at the Oxnard Sunday flea market to walk around and pass the time. His uncle, he said, was an extrovert and was always laughing.
'He was joyful,' Alanis said as he fought back tears. On his phone, he had saved a 2020 video of his uncle dancing at a family gathering.
On Monday, Alanis said he felt encouraged by the Mexican president's message, and it strengthened the family's resolve to get answers about the circumstances of his death, he said. He wore a shirt that depicted a photo of his uncle, and on the back, it read, 'justice for Jaime.'
The mood was somber at the funeral home. Outside, a hand drawn photo of Alanís Garcia with wings sat among a box of pan dulces.
Representatives from the Mexican government arrived and offered words of support and condolences to the family. The Mexican consular staff in Oxnard has said it would provide assistance to Alanis Garcia's family, offering to accompany them both in California and in his home state of Michoacán in central Mexico.
A priest led the audience in a rosary service, calling out Hail Marys in Spanish as they prayed for Alanís Garcia and his relatives. The room was full, with many left standing, as they recited the prayer. Many wiped away tears.
When it came time to bid a final farewell, family members held each other tightly as they cried into each other's arms. A guitarist serenaded the audience with songs, including one titled, Caminos de Michoacán, Roads of Michoacán, a ranchera song that pays homage to Alanis Garcia's homeland.