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Politico
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Politico
California Republicans have a warning for Trump on ICE raids: ‘The fear in our communities is real.'
At the same time, Republicans who distance themselves from Trump risk inflaming their base voters, who are still ardently supportive of strict enforcement. 'Whether you're Valadao or Young Kim or anyone else, understand that the politics of trying to embrace the center necessarily means that you may alienate the right,' Fleischman said. Valadao, who represents an important agricultural region, weighed in on the issue in a social media post last month. 'I remain concerned about ongoing ICE operations throughout CA and will continue my conversations with the administration—urging them to prioritize the removal of known criminals over the hardworking people who have lived peacefully in the Valley for years,' he said on X. But he has kept a low profile on the issue ever since. His office said he was not available for an interview. Kim's spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. 'Republicans have real concerns about potential economic impacts, especially upon agriculture, with the way that enforcement is being conducted,' said Rob Stutzman, a Sacramento-based GOP strategist who advises political and corporate clients. Republican dissent is largely limited to criticism of the ICE raids — which have resulted in the arrests of hundreds of people who have no convictions or pending charges despite the administration's portrayal of the operation as targeted at serious criminals — and not of the president. GOP officials are also quick to accuse Democrats and former President Joe Biden of not doing enough to stop illegal immigration. They blame the media and activists for spreading fear about the sweeps. Still, even the muted public criticism, combined with the recent polls showing that public concern about immigration is receding , suggest the winds may be shifting on a signature element of Trump's policy agenda. 'There's going to be Republicans hedging on this for sure,' Mike Madrid, a Republican political strategist and author of 'The Latino Century,' said after the release of a Gallup Poll that showed a majority of Americans now disapprove of Trump's handling of immigration. 'It's coming, and it has to. The numbers are just unbelievable.' In California, Trump started to make good on his oft-promised mass deportations in June. U.S. authorities had carried out immigration operations in the past, of course, but not at this scale, described as a 'siege' in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of activists, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the United Farm Workers, and joined by the city of Los Angeles.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Yahoo
Farm worker dies a day after chaotic immigration raid at California farm
A farm worker died on Friday from injuries that he sustained a day earlier in raids on two California cannabis farm sites as US immigration authorities confirmed they arrested 200 workers after a tense standoff with authorities. Jaime Alanis's death was confirmed in a social media post by the United Farm Workers advocacy group. 'We tragically can confirm that a farm worker has died of injuries they sustained as a result of yesterday's immigration enforcement action,' the post read. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that authorities executed criminal search warrants in Carpinteria and Camarillo, California, on Thursday. They arrested immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally and there were also at least 10 immigrant children on site, the statement said. Related: 'Reality TV spectacle': outrage as federal agents raid LA neighborhood with horses and armored cars Four US citizens were arrested for 'assaulting or resisting officers', the department said. Authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of one person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents. At least one worker was hospitalized with grave injuries. During the raid, crowds of people gathered outside Glass House Farms at the Camarillo location to demand information about their relatives and protest against immigration enforcement. A chaotic scene developed outside the farm that grows tomatoes, cucumbers and cannabis as authorities clad in helmets and uniforms faced off with the demonstrators. Acrid green and white billowing smoke then forced community members to retreat. Glass House, a licensed California cannabis grower, said in a statement that immigration agents had valid warrants. The company said workers were detained and it was helping provide them with legal representation. 'Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,' the statement said. It is legal to grow and sell cannabis in California with proper licensing. State records show the company has multiple active licenses to cultivate cannabis. On Friday, about two dozen people waited outside the Camarillo farm to retrieve the cars of loved ones and speak to managers about what happened. Relatives of Jaime Alanis, who has worked picking tomatoes at the farm for 10 years, said he called his wife in Mexico during the raid to tell her immigration agents had arrived and that he was hiding with others inside the farm. 'The next thing we heard was that he was in the hospital,' Juan Duran, Alanis's brother-in-law, said in Spanish, his voice breaking. Elizabeth Strater, national vice-president of the United Farm Workers, said Alanis was injured after a 30ft fall from a building during the raid. After immigration agents arrived at Glass House's farm in Camarillo on Thursday morning, workers called family members to let them know authorities were there. Relatives and advocates headed to the farm about 50 miles (80km) north-west of downtown Los Angeles to try to find out what was going on, and began protesting outside. Federal authorities formed a line blocking the road leading through farm fields to the company's greenhouses. Protesters were seen shouting at agents wearing camouflage gear, helmets and gas masks. The billowing smoke drove protesters to retreat. It was unclear why authorities threw the canisters or if they released chemicals such as teargas. Ventura county fire authorities responding to a 911 call of people having trouble breathing said three people were taken to nearby hospitals. At the farm, agents arrested workers and removed them by bus. Others, including US citizens, were detained at the site for hours while agents investigated. The incident came as federal immigration agents have ramped up arrests in southern California at car washes, farms and Home Depot parking lots, stoking widespread fear among immigrant communities. The mother of an American worker said her son was held at the worksite for 11 hours and told her agents took workers' cellphones to prevent them from calling family or filming and forced them to erase cellphone video of agents at the site. The woman said her son told her agents marked the men's hands with ink to distinguish their immigration status. She spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because she feared reprisals from the government. United Farm Workers said in statement that some US citizens were not yet accounted for. Maria Servin, 68, said her son had worked at the farm for 18 years and was helping to build a greenhouse. She said she spoke to her son, who is undocumented, after hearing of the raid and offered to pick him up. 'He said not to come because they were surrounded and there was even a helicopter. That was the last time I spoke to him,' Servin, a US citizen, said in Spanish. She said she went to the farm anyway but federal agents were shooting teargas and rubber bullets and she decided it was not safe to stay. She and her daughter returned to the farm on Friday and were told her son had been arrested on Thursday. They still don't know where he is being held. 'I regret 1,000 times that I didn't help him get his documents,' Servin said. The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post See our guide at for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each.
Reuters
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US citizen says he was jailed for three days after California immigration raid
July 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. citizen and Army veteran who works as a security guard at a California cannabis farm said on Wednesday that U.S. officials arrested him during an immigration raid last week and held him for three days without explanation. George Retes, 25, told reporters he was manhandled by federal agents who broke his car window, damaged his vehicle and sprayed him with tear gas during the raid last Thursday, when immigration officers were confronted by throngs of angry protesters in Camarillo, about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Los Angeles. He said he was released on Sunday afternoon. "I told them everything - that I was a citizen, I worked there, and they didn't care. They still never told me my charges, and they sent me away. They sent me to a place in downtown L.A. without even telling me what I was arrested for," Retes told reporters in a video press conference organized by the United Farm Workers labor union. "They took two officers to kneel on my back and then one on my neck to arrest me, even though my hands were already behind my back and I was covered in OC (oleoresin capsicum) spray," Retes said. The raid was part of an intensified immigration crackdown launched by the administration of President Donald Trump in June. Protesters regularly appear at immigration raids in the Los Angeles area, demonstrating their opposition to the government's display of force. Immigrant rights groups have said the raids have periodically ensnared U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed in a statement that Retes was arrested, released and has not been charged. "The U.S. Attorney's Office is reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal charges related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo," McLaughlin said. Retes, who said he works for a security company contracted by the Glass House cannabis farm, said he missed his daughter's third birthday while in jail and he was planning to sue the federal government. "It doesn't matter if you're an immigrant, it doesn't matter the color of your skin. ... No one deserves to be treated this way," Retes said. "I hope this never happens to anyone ever again."
Kuwait Times
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
In California strawberry fields, immigration raids sow fear
Farmers warn raids could hurt businesses, threaten food supply OXNARD, California: Flor, a Mexican migrant, picks strawberries in the agricultural town of Oxnard, but immigration roundups in recent weeks have infused the farmworker community in the strawberry capital of California with stress and fear. Flor said the raids are taking a toll on the farmworkers' children, who fear that their parents will be detained and deported and some are depressed. Flor, who has a permit to work in the fields, is a single mother of three US citizen daughters and when she picks them up in the afternoon she feels a palpable sense of relief. 'It hurts my soul that every time I leave the house they say, 'Mommy, be careful because they can catch you and they can send you to Mexico and we will have to stay here without you,'' said Flor, who asked that only her first name be used. 'You arrive home and the girls say, 'Ay Mommy, you arrived and immigration didn't take you.' It is very sad to see that our children are worried.' President Donald Trump has increased immigration enforcement since taking office in January, seeking to deport record numbers of immigrants in the US illegally. Farmers, who depend heavily on immigrant labor, have warned raids could damage their businesses and threaten the US food supply. Trump has said in recent weeks that he would roll out a program that would allow farmers to keep some workers, but the White House has not yet put forward any plan. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Tuesday that there would be 'no amnesty.' The Trump administration has arrested twice as many alleged immigration offenders as last year, but the number of farm workers specifically remains unclear. An immigration raid at marijuana farms near Los Angeles on Thursday prompted protests. Many Oxnard residents have not left their houses for three or four weeks and some simply don't show up for work, Flor said. 'It is really sad to see,' Flor said. 'We have senior citizens who work with us and when they see immigration passing where we are working , they begin to cry because of how fearful they are. They have been here many years and they fear they could be sent to their home countries. Their lives are here.' Flor has little hope that the circumstances will improve. 'The only hope we have is that the president touches his heart and does an immigration reform,' she said. The president of the United Farm Workers union, Teresa Romero, said they are working on organizing workers so they 'really stick together' as the fear persists. 'What the administration wants to do is deport this experienced workforce that has been working in agriculture for decades. They know exactly what to do, how to do it,' Romero said.A White House official told Reuters that Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump's immigration agenda, decided in January not to heavily target farms because the workers would be difficult to replace. When asked on CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday about people afraid of possible arrest even if they have legal immigration status, Trump's border czar Tom Homan was unapologetic about the crackdown.'It's not OK to enter this country illegally. It's a crime,' Homan said. 'But legal aliens and US citizens should not be afraid that they're going to be swept up in the raid(s).' The US Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for farmworkers get up at around 4 am local time (1100 GMT) and then wake up their children, who Flor says are suffering with the roundups. 'It is sad to see our community suffering so much. We are just workers who came for a dream, the dream we had for our children,' Flor daughters are 10, 7, and 2 - and the 10-year-old wants to be a police officer. 'And it breaks my heart that she might not fulfill her dream because they detain us and send us to Mexico,' Flor said. 'It makes me very sad to see how many children are being separated from their parents.'While some politicians in California have been outspoken about the immigration raids, Flor said they have not come out to the fields or come to learn about the workers' plight. 'I would like to invite all the politicians to come and see how we work on the farms so they can get to know our story and our lives,' said Flor. 'So they can see the needs we have.' Romero said they are working with representatives in Congress on a legislative bill called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would protect the workers and has the support of at least 30 Republicans. Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of California has introduced the bill to Congress, but it may not pass until the next Congress takes over in 2027. 'We are not going to give up,' said Romero. 'Si se puede (yes we can).' Flor earns about $2,000 a month, a salary that often does not go far enough. She pays $1,250 for rent each month and pays the nanny that helps care for the girls $250 per week. Sometimes, she doesn't have enough food for the children. She also says the back-breaking harvest work means she cannot spend enough time with her children. 'My work also means that I cannot dedicate enough time to my children because the work is very tough, we are crouched down all day and we lift 20 pounds every few minutes in the boxes,' Flor said. Romero said she has talked to some of the children affected by the raids. 'I have talked to children of people who have been deported and all they say is 'I want Daddy back,'' she said. 'It is affecting children who are US citizens and who do not deserve to be growing up with the fear they are growing up with now,' Romero added. 'Unless we get this bill done, this is what is going to continue to happen to these families and communities.' – Reuters
The Star
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
In California strawberry fields, immigration raids sow fear
OXNARD, California (Reuters) -Flor, a Mexican migrant, picks strawberries in the agricultural town of Oxnard, but immigration roundups in recent weeks have infused the farmworker community in the strawberry capital of California with stress and fear. Flor said the raids are taking a toll on the farmworkers' children, who fear that their parents will be detained and deported and some are depressed. Flor, who has a permit to work in the fields, is a single mother of three U.S. citizen daughters and when she picks them up in the afternoon she feels a palpable sense of relief. "It hurts my soul that every time I leave the house they say, 'Mommy, be careful because they can catch you and they can send you to Mexico and we will have to stay here without you,'" said Flor, who asked that only her first name be used. "You arrive home and the girls say, 'Ay Mommy, you arrived and immigration didn't take you.' It is very sad to see that our children are worried.' President Donald Trump has increased immigration enforcement since taking office in January, seeking to deport record numbers of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Farmers, who depend heavily on immigrant labor, have warned raids could damage their businesses and threaten the U.S. food supply. Trump has said in recent weeks that he would roll out a program that would allow farmers to keep some workers, but the White House has not yet put forward any plan. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Tuesday that there would be "no amnesty." The Trump administration has arrested twice as many alleged immigration offenders as last year, but the number of farm workers specifically remains unclear. An immigration raid at marijuana farms near Los Angeles on Thursday prompted protests. Many Oxnard residents have not left their houses for three or four weeks and some simply don't show up for work, Flor said. "It is really sad to see," Flor said. "We have senior citizens who work with us and when they see immigration passing where we are working , they begin to cry because of how fearful they are. They have been here many years and they fear they could be sent to their home countries. Their lives are here." Flor has little hope that the circumstances will improve. "The only hope we have is that the president touches his heart and does an immigration reform," she said. The president of the United Farm Workers union, Teresa Romero, said they are working on organizing workers so they "really stick together" as the fear persists. "What the administration wants to do is deport this experienced workforce that has been working in agriculture for decades. They know exactly what to do, how to do it," Romero said. A White House official told Reuters that Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump's immigration agenda, decided in January not to heavily target farms because the workers would be difficult to replace. When asked on CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday about people afraid of possible arrest even if they have legal immigration status,Trump's border czar Tom Homan was unapologetic about the crackdown. "It's not OK to enter this country illegally. It's a crime," Homan said. "But legal aliens and U.S. citizens should not be afraid that they're going to be swept up in the raid(s)." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment. 'CAME FOR A DREAM' The farmworkers get up at around 4 a.m. local time (1100 GMT) and then wake up their children, who Flor says are suffering with the roundups. "It is sad to see our community suffering so much. We are just workers who came for a dream, the dream we had for our children," Flor said. Flor's daughters are 10, 7, and 2 - and the 10-year-old wants to be a police officer. "And it breaks my heart that she might not fulfill her dream because they detain us and send us to Mexico," Flor said. "It makes me very sad to see how many children are being separated from their parents." While some politicians in California have been outspoken about the immigration raids, Flor said they have not come out to the fields or come to learn about the workers' plight. "I would like to invite all the politicians to come and see how we work on the farms so they can get to know our story and our lives," said Flor. "So they can see the needs we have." Romero said they are working with representatives in Congress on a legislative bill called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would protect the workers and has the support of at least 30 Republicans. Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of California has introduced the bill to Congress, but it may not pass until the next Congress takes over in 2027. "We are not going to give up," said Romero. "Si se puede (yes we can)." Flor earns about $2,000 a month, a salary that often does not go far enough. She pays $1,250 for rent each month and pays the nanny that helps care for the girls $250 per week. Sometimes, she doesn't have enough food for the children. She also says the back-breaking harvest work means she cannot spend enough time with her children. "My work also means that I cannot dedicate enough time to my children because the work is very tough, we are crouched down all day and we lift 20 pounds every few minutes in the boxes," Flor said. Romero said she has talked to some of the children affected by the raids. "I have talked to children of people who have been deported and all they say is 'I want Daddy back,'' she said. "It is affecting children who are U.S. citizens and who do not deserve to be growing up with the fear they are growing up with now," Romero added. "Unless we get this bill done, this is what is going to continue to happen to these families and communities." (Reporting by Mary Milliken and Arafat Barbakh; additional reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; editing by Diane Craft)
