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Chaotic CBP immigration raid leaves farm worker on life support - and a US citizen shackled [1]

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Date: 2025-07-12

During an immigration raid on a pot farm in California, a farm worker was severely injured after he fell 30 feet off a roof. Federal agents reacted by throwing their hands in the air and whining, "It wasn't our fault.”

According to NBC 4 Los Angeles , Jaime Alanis Garcia is hospitalized at Ventura County Medical Center and remains in critical condition, according to a statement by county officials. Garcia’s family told the outlet that he is on life support using an assistive breathing machine and has "catastrophic" injuries. To wit, a broken neck, a broken skull, and a severed artery. (Note: There are conflicting accounts on whether Garcia is still alive or has died. I will update this if Garcia death is confirmed.)

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said:

"Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a green house and fell 30 feet. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible."

I can't say she's lying, but I'd like to see video backing up her statement. The Trump administration is not honest. And absent proof, a rational thinker will do well to assume they are covering their big fat prevaricating asses.

Meanwhile, at another farm, Federal agents who wouldn't identify themselves or their agency handcuffed an American citizen who was a manager at the facility.

NBC News reported :

At a cultivation center in Carpinteria owned by Glass House Farms, manager Edgar Rodriguez said federal officers assaulted and handcuffed him after he repeatedly asked them to identify themselves and provide a warrant. Rodriguez was standing behind a window when 10 unidentified men in fatigues arrived Thursday morning in unmarked cars and one armored vehicle. Rodriguez, a U.S. citizen, said he asked the men several times to identify themselves and provide a reason for arriving heavily armed. The officers refused and responded by saying they were "not ICE" but did not specify which agency they were from.

I am not anti-police. I am against self-defeating, over-the-top, aggressive policing. Behavior breeds behavior. If a host of battle-equipped, masked, and anonymous cops roar up to a farm in armored military vehicles, people will be terrified. And scared people will instinctively go into flight or fight mode.

Unfortunately, cops create the hazardous situation they use to justify the ordinance they carry. It is a classic Catch-22.

This isn't to say cops should never take precautions. Sometimes they are faced with heavily armed perps willing to kill cops. I do not begrudge them protecting themselves. But how many gangbangers work in agriculture?

According to the Feds, they arrested 200 people during raids on the two farms. How many guns did they find? They haven’t said — which points to the answer. The FBI did issue a $50,000 reward for a person armed with a gun who appeared to open fire during one of the altercations. However, no injuries related to gunfire were reported. Authorities said the individual fired multiple shots, but it was not immediately clear whether the shooter was targeting federal agents or firing indiscriminately.

In fairness, there is video of the gunman, who appears to be a protester, not a farm worker ( CLICK HERE for a Twitter link). However, it does make you wonder why, if they have to have all this military equipment, they couldn't track him down. They have no problem arresting the non-violent committing, at best, misdemeanors. But when there is an actual violent felon, they can’t get the job done?

The Feds also made a big deal about child labor at the farms. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin explained:

"At the California marijuana facilities, ICE and CBP law enforcement rescued at least 10 migrant children from what looks like exploitation, forced child labor, and potentially human trafficking or smuggling. Adding: "While ICE and CBP officers are being assaulted by rioters and dodging bullets to save children, Sanctuary politicians are demonizing ICE and CBP. We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law anyone who assaults or doxes federal law enforcement."

How noble. Except McLaughlin doesn't mention that federal agricultural labor laws allow children of any age to work on farms under certain conditions. Children under 12 may work outside of school hours with written parental consent, only on small farms not subject to minimum wage rules. Children 12-13 may work outside of school hours with parental consent or if a parent works on the same farm. Etc.

Again, in all fairness, I will say that California law mandates the minimum age for working on a pot farm is 21. But that’s a state rule, not a federal one. And under what other circumstances does the federal government send masked agents, equipped for war, to enforce any labor laws — let alone state regulations?

And what is it with the secrecy? It should be mandatory for federal agents to wear identifying markings showing their agency name, their name and badge number. To keep them “off the books” is not law enforcement. It is Soviet-style, militarized anonymity designed to strike terror into immigrants and citizens alike.

America is great when everyone on US soil has their civil rights honored in the land of the free and the home of the brave. On the other hand, “MAGA” as a marketing slogan is more dishonest than a “LOSE 50 LBS IN A MONTH” weight loss scam.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/12/2333058/-Chaotic-CBP-immigration-raid-leaves-farm-worker-on-life-support-and-a-US-citizen-shackled?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

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