Update: Federal Agents Deploy Smoke Bombs into Crowds During Raids of Glass House Farms Locations on Central Coast

[Update: Thu., July 10, 4pm] After Homeland Security and ICE left the area of the Carpinteria cannabis farm raid Thursday afternoon — where at least 10 farmworkers were taken into custody, according to advocates at the scene — local leaders responded to the chaotic events that turned a quiet backroad into an explosive clash between protesters and federal agents.

“Today, I was at Casitas Pass Road in Carpinteria where ICE was conducting a raid using disproportionate displays of force against local farm workers and our agricultural community,” Congressmember Salud Carbajal said. “As a member of Congress and representative of the Central Coast, I have the right to conduct oversight and see firsthand what ICE was doing here. As soon as I walked up, I was denied entry and was not allowed to pass. This was completely unacceptable. There’s been a troubling lack of transparency from ICE since the Trump Administration started, and I won’t stop asking questions on behalf of my constituents.”

[Click to zoom] Credit: Courtesy Casey Harris

Congressmember Carbajal said he would be “demanding answers” from the Department of Homeland Security to find out the names of the workers taken in Thursday’s raid, which he called a “gross misuse of limited resources” and a betrayal of American values. 

“Let me be clear: these militarized ICE raids are not how you keep our communities safe.” Carbajal said. “This kind of chaos only traumatizes families and tears communities apart.”

Santa Barbara County Supervisor Laura Capps said the actions taken Thursday were about “terror and power.”

“Today we’re reeling from the inhumane insanity of military immigration enforcement in our own backyard,” Supervisor Capps said. “We stand for compassion, inclusivity and a profound respect for immigrants. Thank you to all who are fighting against this terror, including Congressmember Carbajal and so many others for being on the scene today. We must persist.”

[Update: Thu., July 10, 2025, 3:35pm] Large crowds with community members and public officials gathered in protest in Camarillo and Carpinteria in response to the raids on Thursday morning. In Carpinteria, U.S. Congressmember Salud Carbajal was denied entry in an interaction caught on video on the front lines of the protest. Carpinteria city councilmembers Julia Mayer and Mónica Solórzano were both on scene, where law enforcement reportedly pushed and threw a smoke grenade into the crowd, causing Solórzano to fall and injure her right arm.

“They were pushing toward each of us, and we were standing,” Councilmember Solórzano said, as blood dripped down from her elbow. “They pushed us as a group into the ground.”

“It was loud,” Councilmember Mayer said. “We were just trying to be out here to support our communities.”

At Camarillo’s protest, federal agents reportedly fired rubber bullets and flash bangs into the crowd in addition to deploying smoke canisters.

The Carpinteria City Council will be holding a special city council meeting at 6 p.m. tonight, where the council is expected to consider additional responses to ICE activity in the city.

[Original Story] Dozens of military-style vehicles, reportedly with ICE and the U.S. Homeland Security, conducted raids at two Central Coast cannabis farms Thursday morning, causing a chaotic scene at both the locations as videos spread on social media while the raids were occurring.

The 805 Immigrant Coalition and 805 UndocuFund confirmed that the raids were happening just after 10 a.m. on Thursday, sending out urgent community alerts about the large-scale raids at Glass House Farms locations in Carpinteria and Camarillo. 

“Both locations have multiple ICE vehicles and agents on the ground,” the alert said, calling on citizens to “show up to the scene to protect workers.”

Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick confirmed that local law enforcement was not involved with the ICE activity in Carpinteria in any capacity, though she said the Sheriff’s Office received multiple calls from concerned citizens.

Videos of more than a dozen SUVs and other military-style vehicles were posted on social media prior to the raids, with immigrant rights advocates warning that a convoy was headed from Ventura toward Santa Barbara County.

By 10:30 a.m., advocates with VC Defensa were already on scene at the Glass House Farms location at 645 Laguna Road in Camarillo, where white SUVs could be seen attempting to make entry into the property. Armed Homeland Security officers in full military gear and plainclothes agents in vests could be seen lining the road outside. In one video taken at noon, a line of agents can be seen shooting tear gas canisters at protesters gathered near Laguna Drive and Wood Road.

A similar scene unfolded Thursday morning at Glass House Farms at 5601 Casitas Pass in Carpinteria, where witnesses reported dozens of masked agents blocking the entrance to the nursery. Family members of the farmworkers on site said the presence created a climate of fear and intimidation.

Members of the 805 Immigrant Rapid Response Network are on the ground now recording and offering support for those impacted. 

“If you have family that work at either location of Glass House Farms in Carpineria or Camarillo, please reach out to us if they are detained,” the 805 Immigrant Coalition posted in a statement at around noon. “We can connect you to support them.”

ICE and the U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for information regarding the two raids.

For more information on how to support families impacted by immigration enforcement, visit 805 Immigrant Coalition’s social media pages

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Homeland Security and ICE were the two agencies conducting Thursday’s raids, though witnesses also reported the presence of National Guards personnel. An earlier version of this story’s subtitle also misstated one of Glass House Farms’ location; it is in Camarillo not Oxnard.