A confrontation erupted Thursday between protesters and federal officials carrying out a raid on a Southern California farm, with authorities throwing canisters that sprayed what looked like smoke into the air to disperse the crowd.
Vehicles from Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection blocked the road in a largely agricultural area of Camarillo lined with fields and greenhouses. There were military-style vehicles and a helicopter flying overhead.
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Television images showed dozens of demonstrators gathered on a road between fields where uniformed officers stood in a line across from them. In other images, white and green smoke can be seen as protesters retreat. Other images showed protesters shouting at agents wearing camouflage gear, helmets and gas masks. It wasn’t clear why the authorities threw the canisters or if they released chemicals like tear gas.
Another image from KTLA showed people sat against a wall with their hands bound in front of them; it wasn't clear if they were workers or protesters. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said they were executing a warrant at a marijuana facility.
Glass House Farms said on social media that it was visited Thursday by officials for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and “fully complied with agent search warrants.”
It's legal to grow and sell cannabis in California with proper licensing. State records show the company has multiple active licenses to cultivate cannabis.
The company also has a permit to grow in Ventura County, and as of last year used half of the space for cannabis while half was dedicated to tomatoes and cucumbers, the Ventura County Star reported.
Judith Ramos said she received a call Thursday morning from her father, who worked in the tomato fields.
“He said immigration was outside his job, and if anything happened to take care of everything,” Ramos said, her voice cracking.
The 22-year-old certified nurse assistant said she has two young siblings.
Ramos went to the farm and saw a busload of people being taken out. She was protesting alongside others when agents sprayed the deterrent.
“They didn't want us to get any closer, and they started firing,” Ramos said. “I got some in my eyes. I had to put milk on my face.”
Ramos said she does not know where her father is and had not had contact with him for more than an hour. His truck is still at the worksite, she said.
It was not immediately known which agencies participated in the raid.
The incident comes as federal immigration enforcement agents have ramped up arrests in Southern California, heading to car washes, farms and Home Depot parking lots to take people into custody while stoking widespread fear among immigrant communities.
The Trump administration has had the National Guard providing protection to federal immigration agents carrying out the raids, and this week it sent a large caravan with guns and horses to a park in Los Angeles.
Andrew Dowd, spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department, said they were dispatched around 12:15 p.m. Thursday to the area to provide emergency medical aid. Crews took three people to nearby hospitals, he said, and the incident is ongoing.
Dowd said he had no information on the types of injuries or medical emergencies sustained, and he did not have any details of the people sent to hospitals. He said he had no information on what law enforcement was doing there.
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Associated Press writer Janie Har in San Francisco and freelancer Michael Owen Baker in Camarillo, California, contributed.