Outrage and rancor swelled Friday after federal immigration raids at two state-licensed marijuana cultivation sites in Southern California operated by publicly traded Glass House Brands.
The situation quickly drew national attention, including from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who criticized President Donald Trump for his heavy-handed deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the state.
Masked agents in body armor and camouflage on Thursday deployed tear gas and less-lethal rounds to deter a swelling crowd of protesters decrying the raids at licensed cultivation operations in Camarillo and Carpinteria.
ICE agents detained at least 10 cannabis cultivation workers, Santa Barbara Independent reported.
The agents also took “multiple individuals” into custody for “impeding” the operation, according to Bill Essayli, the U.S attorney for the Central District of California.
At least one protester appeared to fire a pistol toward federal law enforcement, Essayli said.
The FBI is actively searching for the shooter, he added.
Child-labor allegations denied
The raid on the farm also uncovered 10 minors, all of whom were undocumented, according to Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott.
Glass House is “now under investigation for child labor violations,” Scott wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Glass House CEO Kyle Kazan told MJBizDaily the situation was “dynamic” and he could not immediately comment.
In a statement posted to the company’s social media accounts, Glass House Brands said the company complied with “valid” immigration and naturalization warrants.
The company also denied employing children, which would be a violation of cannabis industry age requirements as well as state and federal child-labor laws.
“As per the law, we verified that the warrants were valid and we complied,” Glass House said in its statement.
“Workers were detained and we are assisting to provide them legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors.
“We do not expect this to affect operations moving forward.”
Spotlight on California marijuana immigration raid
The Glass House raid was the latest in a string of high-profile actions by the Department of Homeland Security and ICE in the Los Angeles area.
“Kids running from tear gas, crying on the phone because their mother was just taken from the fields,” posted Newsom, who used the opportunity to criticize Trump.
“Trump calls me ‘Newscum’ – but he’s the real scum.”
Video from advocates on the scene and news helicopters showed protestors hurling rocks at unmarked cars and agents firing tear gas through vast fields.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal rushed to the scene of the raid in Carpinteria, in southeastern Santa Barbara County.
At the scene, Carbajal said, ICE agents denied him entry to observe.
“This was completely unacceptable,” he said in a statement.
“And let me be clear: These militarized ICE raids are not how you keep our communities safe.
“This kind of chaos only traumatizes families and tears communities apart.
“They are also a gross misuse of limited resources and a betrayal of the values that define us as Americans.”
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Raid revives Glass House labor law, illicit-market allegations
With more than 150 licenses for cultivation, retail and manufacturing operations throughout California, vertically integrated Glass House is one of the largest marijuana companies in the state.
The company – led by Kazan and President Graham Farrar – has been involved in other controversies.
Last year, for example, Glass House workers sued the company in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging “systemic” employment law violations, including unrealistic work quotas that resulted in skipped meal breaks and unpaid overtime.
Glass House also frequently comes up when illicit marijuana “diversion” is discussed, with multiple reports of Glass House-branded product for sale on unlicensed dispensary shelves in New York.
Glass House has always stridently denied illicit market activity.
In a statement to MJBizDaily, Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) Director Nicole Elliott said she understood the raid to be “focused on immigration enforcement” rather than anything to do with cannabis.
“We want to remind our licensees: Do not let fear and intimidation divide or destabilize your workplace or your community,” she said.
“California remains committed to thoughtful, lawful governance and to protecting the integrity of our regulated cannabis market.”
The spectacle was “beyond outrageous,” said Marc Cohodes, an investor who’s backed Glass House.
“The government is aware of cartels, illicit crime, the whole thing and yet, and yet, they decide to spend their resources going after a total legal company that pays the state of California hundreds of millions of dollars excise tax,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.
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