California farmworker who fell from greenhouse roof during chaotic ICE raid dies
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first known person to die during one of the Trump administration's ongoing immigration enforcement operations. Yesenia Duran, Alanis' niece, confirmed his death to The Associated Press.
Duran posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe that her uncle was his family's only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to a wife and daughter in Mexico. Alanis worked at the farm for 10 years, his family said.
The United Farm Workers reported Alanis' death prematurely late Friday. The Ventura County Medical Center later issued a statement authorized by the family saying he was still on life support.
'These violent and cruel federal actions terrorize American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,' the UFW said recently in a statement on the social platform X. The union does not represent workers at the raided farm.
The Department of Homeland Security said it executed criminal search warrants Thursday at Glass House Farms facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria. Glass House is a licensed cannabis grower. The farm in Camarillo also grows tomatoes and cucumbers.
Garcia called family to say he was hiding and possibly was fleeing agents before he fell about 30 feet (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, DHS said in a statement. Alanis 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.'
Four U.S. citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly 'assaulting or resisting officers,' according to 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, and people ultimately retreated amid acrid green and white billowing smoke.
Glass House 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.
'Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,' it said.
The business was co-founded by Graham Farrar and Kyle Kazan. Farrar has donated to California Democrats including Gov. Gavin Newsom, a vocal critic of Republican President Donald Trump, according to campaign finance records. Kazan has donated to both Democrats and Republicans.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
"Six Hour Notice, No Safety Assurance": Inside America's New Deportation Plan
Washington: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reportedly planning to deport migrants with as little as six hours of advance notice to countries that are not their own-- even without any guarantees of safety from the receiving nations. ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons told the ICE workforce in a recent memo that the Supreme Court's last month ruling has cleared the way for "immediately" deporting immigrants to "alternative" countries, without "diplomatic assurances" of protection against torture or persecution, according to a report by The Washington Post. In case of deportation to countries with no "diplomatic assurance", deportees will ideally receive a notice 24 hours in advance. However, in "exigent circumstances," removal can be carried out within only six hours, the report said. Those being flown to places offering those assurances, deportation can be carried out with no advance notice. The new US policy marks a significant departure from previous deportation practice, when migrants were rarely sent to third countries. Among those affected would be thousands of immigrants who might face danger in their own countries, or people from nations like China or Cuba that do not always cooperate with deportations due to frosty relationships with the US. Lawyers' Warning Immigration lawyers have warned that the new policy could endanger thousands of longtime immigrants with work permits and families in the US. These people can be uprooted and sent to places where they lack family ties or even a common language. "It puts thousands of lives at risk of persecution and torture," said Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, which is challenging the ruling in court. Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, lead counsel in another immigration case, said the move is "definitely" going to affect "thousands upon thousands of people". "This is a category of people who understood themselves to be out of the woods,' he said. Realmuto's agency sued the Trump administration in March for violating federal law by sending migrants to countries where they could be harmed. The lawsuit included the case of a Guatemalan man who was deported to Mexico, where he had been kidnapped and raped. US District Judge Brian Murphy has temporarily barred the Trump administration from sending immigrants to third countries without first providing them written notice at least 10 days before for a "meaningful opportunity" to challenge the deportation. On June 23, the US Supreme Court's conservative majority paused the district court's order in a brief, unsigned statement that did not explain its reasoning, making way for the removals to resume. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented against the Supreme Court's judgment, and along with Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, she warned that the court's decision would put people at risk. "In matters of life and death, it is best to proceed with caution," she wrote. "In this case, the Government took the opposite approach. What ICE Memo Said ICE chief's memo, which is based on guidance Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L Noem issued in March, permits removal based on assurances accepted by the US State Department. It says ICE can deport an individual to a third country within 24 hours of notifying them where they are being sent. Officials also don't need to ask deportees if they fear going to a third country. In case any immigrant does express a fear of being deported in the 24-hour period, Lyons' memo said they will be screened for possible humanitarian protection under federal law and the Convention Against Torture-- which was ratified by Congress in 1994 to stop governments from sending immigrants to a country where they might face torture. The screenings will "generally" happen within a 24-hour window to determine if the deportee merits immigration court proceedings or humanitarian protection.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
'Centre choosing easy over effective': Congress's Jairam Ramesh slams rollback of sulphur norms; alleges government caved to polluter pressure
PTI file photo NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday criticised the Modi government for exempting most coal-fired power plants from installing pollution control systems, calling the decision 'dangerous' and based on 'faulty premises. ' The environment ministry's new order, passed Friday, exempts 78–89% of thermal power plants from using flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) systems, which cut sulphur dioxide (SO₂) emissions. 'The Modi Government has already achieved the dubious distinction of having made India the global leader in sulphur dioxide emissions,' Ramesh posted on X. 'Now we learn that the environment ministry has exempted 78–89% of India's thermal power plants from installing FGDs.' . The former environment minister further said SO₂ harms public health and affects monsoon patterns. 'Research has increasingly shown that a large part of India's PM2.5 is due to sulphur dioxide reacting with other compounds,' he added. Ramesh also hit out at the ministry for shifting focus from PM2.5 to the less harmful PM10, just because it's more visible and easier to control. 'By turning a blind eye to PM2.5, the ministry has consigned us to many more years of public health crisis.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo The senior Congress leader also slammed the continued use of outdated 2009 air quality norms. 'Without revising the NAAQS, policymaking will continue to be driven by flawed metrics,' he said. 'Delayed FGD worsening crisis': Research Meanwhile, a recent research by IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay, reviewed by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) says that India's air pollution is largely driven by secondary PM2.5 particles formed when sulphur dioxide and other gases react in the atmosphere. According to IIT Delhi, about 81% of this pollution is home-grown, with the power sector alone responsible for 11% of population-weighted exposure. It said that despite clear evidence linking SO₂ emissions to public health risks, FGD implementation in coal plants remains patchy, delayed, and widely ignored.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
BBC's coverage of Air India crash: Old bias, new tragedy
The image shows the back of the Air India plane that crashed in a residential area, on a medical college, near the airport in Ahmedabad, June 12, 2025. Image- AFP The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) put out a hurried report apparently implying Indian pilot error for the Air India plane crash a month ago, based on a selective interpretation of the preliminary findings from the Indian investigative authorities. It did not emphasise the tendency of the fuel switches to malfunction and disengage despite the provision of locking mechanisms. In a glaring expression of bias, probably intended to shield aircraft maker Boeing and jet engine maker General Electric, the BBC glossed over the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bulletin from 2018 that pointed out problems with the fuel switches in Boeing 737 jet aircraft. The same switches are also installed in the 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The BBC instead pointed out that the FAA bulletin from 2018 only highlighted the problem that could—and in this instance did—have fatal consequences, but did not mandatorily insist on the fuel switches being fixed or replaced. Instead, the FAA stressed inspection. Was it laxness then on the part of the American FAA, compounded by Boeing? Is even the faulty switch now being sought to be foisted on Air India's inspection lapses? But the BBC did not raise these questions. The tendency of the BBC to put out slanted reports on matters relating to India is not new. It has done so time and again, building up quite a long list, this being only the latest example. As a British entity financed by the licence fee paid by ordinary TV-watching Britons—yet not averse to accepting donations from all sorts of entities, including the Chinese and countries that are anti-Semitic—its irresponsible actions against India, probably both a consequence of a large number of employees of Pakistani origin and a colonial hangover, not only harm its own reputation but potentially also Indo-British relations. These relations are now being taken up a notch by the implementation of a hard-negotiated Free Trade Agreement (FTA). There is also an ongoing negotiation and competition between Rolls-Royce of Britain and Safran of France to collaborate with India to manufacture a brand-new AMCA sixth-generation stealth fighter engine. Other military engine collaborations for the Indian Navy are also in the works, even as the British economy is not doing very well. A preliminary report released by the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on July 13th—one month after the crash of Air India AI 171 at Ahmedabad—stated that the fuel switches were apparently switched off for both engines. They were switched off, one after the other, just 1-3 seconds after take-off, and then switched on again, probably by the pilots. One engine came back to life, providing some thrust after about 10-14 seconds, but the aircraft could not gain height after that. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The cockpit voice recorder captured one pilot asking the other why he had switched off the fuel, and the other pilot replying that he had not. The plane could not climb beyond 670 metres and crashed into a trainee doctors' hostel building just 39 seconds after take-off. It burst into flames after three explosions caused by its momentum, the impact, and full tanks of aviation fuel. Notably, the AAIB preliminary report mentioned that a 2018 US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bulletin concerned the fuel control switch locking mechanisms on Boeing 737 jets. When disengaged, the switches could move more easily through vibration, contact, or other factors. The FAA did not mandate fixes in the bulletin, only recommending inspections to ensure proper locking engagement. This suggests that perhaps both the fuel switches malfunctioned and were not properly locked into place in the ill-fated aircraft before take-off. This is the latest position even as the AAIB has not suggested any further action on the part of Boeing or GE at this time. But the speculation began a month ago. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Soon after the horrible crash of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, Flight AI 171 to London Gatwick on 12th June, taking off at 13:39 IST from Ahmedabad, speculation was full blown. It killed 241 people on board and 19 on the ground, with 67 more injured. So, what caused it? Western 'aviation experts' were quick to come on television and cast speculative aspersions of error on the two Indian pilots. Their clear objective, probably funded by Boeing and General Electric (GE) themselves, was to drive the narrative away from the aircraft company and its GE engines that failed. This is because any culpability established by the investigations from the successfully recovered black box, the cockpit flight recorder, and the relevant wreckage would likely result in expensive lawsuits against Boeing and GE. These, if they went against them, would involve billions of dollars in payouts. Objectivity and balance were clearly missing in the early reactions, including those in other media reports, social media posts, podcasts, and so on. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Only one Western expert notably suggested the possibility of software malfunctions in the aircraft. Indian commentators advanced many other theories, steering clear of blaming the highly experienced but dead pilots. They spoke of software malfunctions too, possible sabotage, maintenance issues, inherent flaws and shortcomings of the aircraft. They cited erstwhile Boeing executives criticising the manufacture and shortcuts taken by Boeing for the Dreamliner. At the same time, this aircraft had been in operation for 11 years prior, and there are some 1,175 Dreamliners operating in various airlines all over the world since it began to fly in 2011. Early speculations also included possible bird hits on both engines, though later there was no evidence of this found. Only one passenger in seat 11A escaped miraculously almost unscathed. The BBC's quickness to cast suspicion on Indian pilots—while ignoring the long-documented issues with Boeing's fuel switches, the FAA's leniency, and even the basic questions of mechanical failure—speaks volumes. Its reporting on India has long carried a whiff of colonial bias, made worse by internal demographics and perhaps external funding. As India and Britain stand poised to deepen economic and defence ties, the BBC's habitual anti-India stance is not just irresponsible journalism; it is a potential irritant in an increasingly strategic partnership. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The writer is a Delhi-based political commentator. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
