The U.S. Department of Homeland Security now states that agents detained 361 reportedly undocumented immigrants during raids at Glass House Farms cannabis facilities in Carpinteria and Camarillo last week.
Ten workers were detained at the Carpinteria facility operation, which involved dozens of federal agents from DHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the National Guard.
Agents deployed flash-bang grenades and smoke grenades at the crowd of civilian protesters who gathered near the Casitas Pass Road cannabis greenhouses during the enforcement operation.
As of Monday, federal authorities had not shared information about the people detained at the Carpinteria facility, their immigration or work authorization status, or where they are being detained.
ICE officials also had not responded to Noozhawk’s questions or request for comment regarding the Carpinteria operation.
Congressman Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, joined the crowd of protesters in Carpinteria to oversee the operation but was denied access by federal agents.
Carpinteria City Councilwoman Mónica Solórzano said she was injured when agents deployed flash-bang grenades and pushed back the crowd without warning.
At least one local worker detained in Thursday’s raid in Carpinteria has been deported to Mexico, according to her family and news reports.
The Santa Barbara Independent reported that an undocumented mother with no criminal history, working a 3 a.m.-to-noon shift at Glass House Farms in Carpinteria, was arrested during the raid.
She called her 15-year-old son while in custody to ask him to take care of his younger brothers.
The woman already has been deported to Mexico, according to the news report, and her sons plan to join her once she is released from a detention center in Tijuana.
Elizabeth Navarro, a former teacher for two of the boys, created a GoFundMe fundraiser to support the family.
“I’ve had the privilege of working closely with two incredible young students, ages 8 and 9,” Navarro wrote. “These boys, along with their 15-year-old brother, Juan, have always impressed me with their resilience, warmth, and quiet strength — even in the face of difficult circumstances.”
Lucas Zucker, co-executive director for the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, said there is an incredible amount of fear and heartbreak in the immigrant and farmworker community after Thursday’s raid.
“Every farmworker, farmworker family, people are right now making this impossible choice of whether you show up for work and risk not coming home to your children today, or you stay home and stay safe but risk not being able to pay the rent next month,” Zucker said.
He said many workers are not showing up to work right now out of fear of more workplace raids, leaving the agriculture industry in chaos.
To support farmworkers and immigrant communities, Zucker said, they’re advocating for increased wages for farmworkers and for the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to provide financial support for immigrants affected by detention and deportation.
“When the dust settles, many farmworkers will still show up for work and risk everything to work in dangerous conditions, to put food on the tables of people all over the country,” Zucker said. “So we need to think about how we’re better supporting our farmworker community.”
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors is set to approve $105,000 in funding for the Immigrant Legal Defense Center for immigrant youth legal and support services and $240,000 for mental health services.
The supervisors also are set to discuss recent enforcement activity during their regular meeting scheduled for 9:45 a.m. Tuesday at 105 E. Anapamu St. in Santa Barbara.
The Santa Barbara City Council is hosting an emergency town hall meeting on Tuesday night in response to local immigration enforcement, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Franklin Community Center, 1136 E. Montecito St.
On Sunday, ICE posted on X that Congressman Carbajal was part of a “violent mob of protesters trying to obstruct federal law enforcement” as they executed a criminal search warrant.
The post claimed that rioters were throwing rocks at officers and injured one ICE employee. ICE claimed that Carbajal doxxed that same employee by sharing his business card with members of the “violent mob.”
While covering the protest, a Noozhawk reporter witnessed Carbajal interact with an ICE employee who identified themselves as a public affairs officer for the Los Angeles ICE office.
The employee gave Carbajal his business card, which Carbajal shared with members of the media, including Noozhawk.
Carbajal posted a response on X and said ICE and the Department of Homeland Security used a “disturbing and disproportionate level of force” at the raid and protest.
“This aggressive behavior in a normally quiet part of the Central Coast sparked alarm across our community, prompting a flood of calls and messages to my office from concerned citizens,” Carbajal posted on X. “I went to the scene to seek answers and represent my constituents.”
He added that the claims of doxing and violent mobs are deflection tactics to distort public perception and evade accountability.
Camarillo Cannabis Facility Arrests
Most of the workers detained in Thursday’s operations were at the Camarillo Glass House Farms facility. Confrontations between agents and a large crowd of protesters turned violent during that operation, according to news reports.
The cannabis company Glass House Brands is also under investigation for child labor law violations after 14 minors were reportedly found at the Camarillo facility, according to a DHS news release.
No further information was available, including whether they were held in federal custody.
It was unclear whether the minors were workers at the facility.
Glass House Brands said in a statement Friday that the company “has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors.”
Graham Farrar, the company president, did not respond to requests for comment. Glass House Brands owns and operates Santa Barbara County cannabis cultivation businesses and Farmacy dispensaries.
DHS released the names of four people arrested during the raids who reportedly have criminal convictions, but did not indicate at which facility they were detained. The four people were, according to DHS:
- Roman Izquierdo, from Mexico, who has been convicted of kidnapping, attempted rape and attempted child molestation, and who ICE previously deported in 2006.
- Juan Duarte-Velasquez, from Mexico, who has been convicted of rape and driving under the influence.
- Jose Orellana, from El Salvador, who has been convicted of driving under the influence and a hit-and-run with property damage.
- Adriana Gonzalez-Gonzalez, from Mexico, who has been convicted three times for burglary and a DUI, according to DHS.
Additionally, four U.S. citizens are being criminally processed for allegedly assaulting or resisting officers during the Camarillo operation.
DHS claims that protesters damaged vehicles and one person fired a gun at law enforcement. That person has not been identified, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering $50,000 for any information leading to their arrest.
California State University, Channel Islands professor Jonathan Anthony Caravello was detained by agents during the protest.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X that Caravello was arrested for throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement. ABC7 reported that witnesses said Caravello was attempting to dislodge a tear gas canister that was stuck underneath someone’s wheelchair.
Caravello was set to appear in court Monday afternoon.
