As a former longtime resident of Santa Barbara County, I was heartbroken watching the July 10 Carpinteria City Council meeting, at which the council voted to resist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and allocate $10,000 from the depleted general fund to local Democratic nongovernmental organizations.
These NGOs admit they are out of COVID-19 funding and federal assistance, yet the council remains silent on verifying alleged exploitation by Glass House Farms in Ventura County.
This reckless move, sparked by a recent ICE raid during which federal agents faced violence, including an alleged gunshot, endangers our community and emboldens lawlessness.
Even worse, it ignores the exploitation of vulnerable workers while the news media and Democratic Party leaders stoke division, conveniently forgetting their silence during past immigration enforcement.
The Carpinteria City Council’s stance is not just misguided; it’s a betrayal of our shared values.
Years ago, under President Barack Obama, I lost two close friends to deportation. Both had used stolen documents to work and, when they were caught, they were abruptly removed.
It was painful, but there were no riots, no media frenzy, no local councils declaring resistance.
The Obama administration deported more than 2.5 million illegal immigrants, yet the outrage we see today was absent.
Many of those earlier deportees were here as housekeepers, gardeners, and were our friends and neighbors, but some broke even more laws after stealing identities to enter the United States illegally.
Where were the protests then?
Now, the same news media and Democratic Party figures, alongside well-meaning but misled liberals, are whipping up a storm, weaponizing empathy to paint ICE as the villain.
It feels like they’re latching onto this cause because it’s the loudest one available, not because it’s grounded in consistent principle.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin reported on X that the Glass House Farms raid targeted a Camarillo property linked to a federal warrant that was tied to a transnational criminal organization involved in human smuggling.
This wasn’t a random sweep of hardworking immigrants but a focused operation against serious crime.
Yet, the Carpinteria council’s declaration dismisses this reality, choosing instead to obstruct federal law enforcement.
This isn’t compassion; it’s complicity in a system that exploits undocumented workers while shielding those who profit from it.
A 2023 lawsuit by Long Beach-based Catalyst Cannabis Co. accuses Glass House Farms of funneling legally grown cannabis to illicit markets nationwide, undercutting legal businesses and fueling a black market.
Another class-action lawsuit from 2024 alleges labor abuses at Glass House, including unpaid overtime, grueling quotas and skipped breaks — conditions that hit vulnerable workers hardest.
California’s overregulated economy pushes businesses to exploit cheap labor, trapping people like my deported friends in a cycle of fear and instability.
By resisting ICE, the Carpinteria council isn’t protecting these workers; it’s enabling the very system that preys on them.
Why doesn’t Glass House sponsor its undocumented workers like other businesses must? If allegations of eight undocumented, unaccompanied minors being exploited by this huge corporation are true, how can anyone be OK with that?
Why charge taxpayers for safety and fair working practices that the employer should be accountable for?
The news media and Democrats’ selective outrage is maddening. They were silent when my friends were deported, yet now they cheer resistance and vilify law enforcement, ignoring the violence against agents in Ventura County.
This hypocrisy, amplified by liberals searching for a cause, is creating a dangerous divide. The Carpinteria council’s decision sends a message that Carpinteria prioritizes political posturing over public safety, potentially harboring criminals while workers suffer.
We all deserve better. The Carpinteria City Council must reverse this vote and work with federal agencies to root out exploitation, not obstruct justice.
The California Department of Cannabis Control should crack down on illicit markets, and our leaders should protect workers without excusing lawlessness.