A Mexican migrant farm worker has died from severe injuries after falling 30 feet during a chaotic ICE raid on a marijuana farm in Camarillo, California.
The incident, which unfolded Thursday at Glass House Farms, is drawing national outrage over the use of federal force, the treatment of migrant laborers, and the human toll of the government’s intensifying crackdown on illegal work sites.
The victim, identified by family members as Jaime Alanís García, sustained what officials described as “catastrophic injuries” after plummeting from the roof of a greenhouse structure while immigration enforcement agents descended on the farm.
Alanís suffered a broken neck, a fractured skull, and a severed artery. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital in critical condition but succumbed to his injuries early Friday morning.
“We tragically can confirm that a farm worker has died of injuries they sustained as a result of yesterday’s immigration enforcement action,” the United Farm Workers union (UFW) wrote in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
UPDATE: we tragically can confirm that a farm worker has died of injuries they sustained as a result of yesterday’s immigration enforcement action. https://t.co/Pq3rMmzZJR
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) July 11, 2025
Alanís, a father and husband, had been sending his wages back home to support his wife and daughter in Mexico. His relatives initially believed he had been detained in the raid.
“We assumed they caught him,” a family member told NBC Los Angeles. “But we got a call from the hospital that he was in critical condition, with catastrophic injuries. Later we were told he wasn’t going to make it.”
The Department of Homeland Security, under mounting scrutiny, insists that Alanís was not being chased or directly targeted by agents when the fall occurred. “This man was not in, and has never been in, CBP or ICE custody,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
“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 in medivac support to get him care as quickly as possible.”
Despite that statement, the broader operation has sparked renewed fury from immigrant rights groups, labor advocates, and even some lawmakers who say the raid — which turned violent — exposed the ongoing dangers of federal immigration tactics under the Trump administration.
UFW President Teresa Romero condemned the enforcement action as “violent and cruel,” stating it “terrorized communities, disrupted the American food supply chain, and led to unnecessary loss of life.”
The Thursday raid was part of what officials say is the largest workplace immigration operation conducted under President Trump’s second term.
Over 200 individuals suspected of being in the country illegally were arrested at the sprawling Glass House Farms facility, which produces both cannabis and produce. Among the detainees were American citizens, and union leaders say some remain unaccounted for.
Tensions escalated as demonstrators clashed with federal agents at the scene. Footage from the operation shows heavily armed officers in riot gear facing down lines of unarmed farm workers and protesters, with at least one protester reportedly firing a gun during the standoff. Dozens of farm workers suffered injuries, several critically.
Compounding the controversy, federal authorities also uncovered ten unaccompanied migrant minors working at the site — most of whom are believed to have crossed the southern border alone.
Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott confirmed the presence of the children, and said Glass House Farms is now under investigation for potential child labor violations and human trafficking.
“Law enforcement rescued 8 unaccompanied migrant children from what appears to be exploitative conditions,” said McLaughlin. “We’re looking at potential child labor law violations and signs of organized smuggling or trafficking.”
Glass House Farms has publicly denied all allegations of wrongdoing. In a statement issued Friday, the farm claimed it “fully complied with all search warrants and legal requirements,” and refuted claims that it knowingly employed minors or violated hiring laws.
The farm said it operates on a mixed-use model, cultivating cannabis in one section while growing tomatoes and cucumbers in another. It blamed third-party labor contractors for any undocumented or underage workers who may have been present, a common defense used by large agricultural operations seeking to distance themselves from workforce violations.
Still, that explanation has done little to calm the outrage among immigrant advocacy groups, who see the death of Jaime Alanís as emblematic of a system that exploits migrant labor while punishing the most vulnerable. “He wasn’t a criminal,” said one protester outside the hospital where Alanís was treated. “He was a father. He was trying to survive, just like everyone else.”
Thursday’s operation and Alanís’s tragic death mark a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement strategy.
“The government’s job is to protect people, not kill them,” said UFW President Teresa Romero. “We demand accountability — for Jaime Alanís, for the children exploited in those greenhouses, and for every worker caught in the crosshairs of this cruel and broken system.”