Worker's Death After Immigration Raid on Calif. Cannabis Farm Sparks Outcry Over ICE Tactics

The death of a Mexican farmworker during a raid by federal officers at a California cannabis farm has sparked an outcry over ICE tactics.

Jaime Alanis, 57, fell from a greenhouse during the federal immigration operation at a Ventura County farm on Thursday, July 10, the New York Times reported.

He died on Saturday, July 12, a lawyer for his family told the Times.

“Our hearts are heavy for the grieving family of Jaime Alanis, who died from injuries sustained during a chaotic raid on Thursday,” Teresa Romero, President of the United Farm Workers, said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “We’ll do everything we can to support them. We continue to work with hundreds of farm worker families navigating the aftermath of this violent raid. Our staff continues to be on the ground.”

According to a GoFundMe post organized by his niece, Alanis, who is from Michoacán, Mexico, suffered a broken neck, fractured skull and a severed artery.

“He was chased by ICE agents, and we were told he fell 30ft,” the post read.

Alanis had been working at the Glass House Farms facility in Camarillo for 10 years, his family said, per ABC10.

Immigration officials said Alanis was not being pursued by federal agents at the time of the incident.

“This man was not in and has not been in CBP or ICE custody,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement, per Associated Press. “Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30 feet. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”

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Romero said many workers, including U.S. citizens, were held by federal authorities at the farm. She said U.S. citizen workers were eventually released “after they were forced to delete photos and videos of the raid from their phones.”  

“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorize American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” she said.

News of the Thursday raids on the Camarillo site, as well as a site at Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County, prompted protests and clashes with federal agents. The Department of Homeland Security said protesters damaged vehicles, four U.S. citizens were taken into custody for assaulting or resisting officers and someone fired a gun at law enforcement officers. 

“As of July 13, at least 14 migrant children have been rescued from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking,” DHS said in a statement.

The GoFundMe page for Alanis’ family has raised more than $150,000. “He was his family’s only provider,” his niece wrote. “They took one of our family members. We need justice.”