Ventura County cannabis farm ICE raids: Glass House Brands issues 1st public statement
Protesters clash with federal agents at Ventura County farm
It appears smoke bombs were thrown as federal agents and protesters clash during an immigration raid at a Ventura County farm.
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. - Glass House Brands, the company at the center of two Southern California ICE raids last month that left a man dead and hundreds arrested, released its first public statement on Monday.
What happened during the raids?
The backstory:
On July 10, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents executed a search warrant for Glass House's farms in Camarillo and Carpinteria, according to court filings.
At the Camarillo site, armored vehicles blocked the road lined with fields and greenhouses as masked agents deployed onto the property. One farmworker, later identified as Jaime Alanis Garcia, fell from a greenhouse roof while running to hide and later died from his injuries.
Outside the farm, officers faced off with demonstrators and fired tear gas to disperse them, a federal agent wrote in court filings. One demonstrator threw a gas canister back at Border Patrol officers, according to the agent. Another demonstrator appeared to fire a gun.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ICE agents, protesters clash during raid at Ventura County cannabis farm
Authorities clad in military-style helmets and uniforms faced off with the demonstrators, some of them relatives asking for the whereabouts of their loved ones. Acrid green and white billowing smoke then forced community members to retreat.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 360 people were arrested, most suspected of being in the U.S. without legal status.
Those arrested included four U.S. citizens, including U.S. Army veteran George Retes, 25, who works as a security guard. Retes was reportedly detained for three days without charges or explanation, despite identifying himself as a U.S. citizen and Army veteran. The 25-year-old was released and told he faced no charges. However, officials noted the U.S. Attorney's Office is reviewing his case for potential federal charges.
Additionally, the DHS said 14 "migrant children" were also arrested. No further information was released about the minors.
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.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Ventura County ICE raid: Farmworker killed, others unaccounted for, union says
The raids at Glass House mark one of the largest operations since Trump took office.
Glass House issues first official statement
What they're saying:
Glass House, California's largest legal cannabis grower, outlined details of the July 10 operations at its Camarillo and Carpinteria facilities.
According to the company, nine employees were detained or arrested, and any other people arrested would have been employed by farm labor companies that provide employees for the farm. It added that none of its employees were involved in the protests.
Glass House said it has not been able to determine the identities of the children who were arrested at the facility, but added, "none of them were Glass House employees."
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Federal and state laws allow children as young as 12 to work in agriculture under certain conditions, though no one under age 21 is allowed to work in the cannabis industry.
According to the company, the raid was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and that the search warrant was authorized specifically for "evidence of possible immigration violations."
Glass House said "very few documents were seized pursuant to the search warrant."
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Glass House did not comment on whether its farming operations have been delayed, but did say it has taken several actions to improve its labor practices to comply with federal immigration laws. This includes increased age controls for anyone entering its farms, and a signed labor peace agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Why Glass House?
What we know:
The government said Glass House was being investigated for potential child labor, human trafficking, and other abuses.
The state’s Department of Cannabis Control said they "observed no minors on the premises" during a site visit to the farm in May 2025. After receiving another complaint, the department opened an active investigation, according to a department spokesperson.
Before Monday's statement, Glass House had previously posted a brief statement on X saying it complied with immigration and naturalization warrants and "has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors."
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Farmworker dead after Camarillo ICE raid
Dig deeper:
The company was co-founded by Kyle Kazan, a former Southern California police officer and special education teacher turned cannabis investor, and Graham Farrar, a Santa Barbara tech entrepreneur.
Glass House started growing cannabis in a greenhouse in Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County when once-thriving cut flower operations were being reduced.
It later bought property in Camarillo in neighboring Ventura County for $93 million that had six greenhouses and was being used to grow tomatoes and cucumbers.
To date, two of the greenhouses have been converted to grow cannabis.
Glass House Farms is part of Glass House Brands, which has other businesses that make cannabis products.
The Source: The information in this article is based on a public comment released by Glass House Brands, with additional details sourced from a statement by the Department of Homeland Security and an official account of an employee who was detained during the raids. The Associated Press contributed.