A raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on two cannabis growing sites in California led to tense conflicts and finger-pointing Thursday and Friday, as the Customs and Border Patrol commissioner said he was launching an investigation into potential “child labor violations,” while Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the raids and called President Donald Trump “scum.”
Federal agents block people protesting an ICE immigration raid at a nearby licensed cannabis farm on ... More
ICE agents raided cannabis nurseries in Camarillo, California, and Carpinteria, California, on Thursday.
Both cannabis facilities are owned by Glass House Brands Inc., which bills itself as one of the largest cannabis flower brands in the world.
CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said in posts on X Thursday and Friday that agents found 10 undocumented “juveniles” as young as 14 years old, eight of which were allegedly unaccompanied, during the raids.
Scott said in an X post Thursday that the facility is now under investigation for “child labor violations.”
It remains unclear if the juveniles found at the cannabis facility are employed by Glass House. The company denied hiring minors in a statement on X, stating that “Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors.”
During the raids, law enforcement used tear gas and crowd control munitions and were met with protests, The New York Times reported.
The LA Times reported that about 200 suspected undocumented immigrants were taken into custody as a result of the raids.
Newsom condemned the raids on X, posting a video of people who appear to be running from tear gas and writing, “Trump calls me ‘Newscum’ — but he’s the real scum.”
The Department of Homeland Security replied to Newsom’s post on X Thursday with a post asking, “Why are there children working at a marijuana facility, Gavin?”
In Scott’s Friday post on X, he posted a photo of the undocumented juveniles and challenged Newsom, asking, “California are you ready to partner with us to stop child exploitation?”
Newsom responded Friday with an X post, stating that California “prosecute(s) criminals that break child labor laws.”
Trump campaigned on the promise of cracking down on illegal immigration and deporting undocumented criminals—a goal the administration has tried to achieve through raids and deportation. But ICE has increasingly arrested and detained immigrants with no criminal history since Trump took office. California has been in the national spotlight recently as the Trump administration carries out major anti-immigrant actions in the state, such as ICE raids in Los Angeles that prompted major protests in the city and a raid consisting of armed agents and troops on horseback, on foot and in humvees at MacArthur Park in LA this week.
Newsom and DHS, as well as DHS agency CBP and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott, have been in a heated social media exchange centered on the 10 “juveniles” found during the raids. Newsom has condemned ICE and Trump’s actions against immigrants for months now, notably condemning Trump’s decision to send the National Guard to LA during last month’s anti-ICE protests. Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for Newsom, called the recent raids “inhumane” in a statement to Forbes and said that rather than supporting businesses and workers that drive the economy, they “evoke chaos, fear and terror.”