Trump DHS repeats accusations of child labor against marijuana cultivator

In the wake of Thursday’s deadly immigration raids at two legal California marijuana cultivation sites, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday repeated accusations that Glass House Brands was using undocumented workers and child labor.

However, state marijuana regulators told MJBizDaily that “no minors were on the premises” during a May 2025 site visit.

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS’s assistant secretary for public affairs, aired the claim during an appearance on Fox News in which she also criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for speaking out against the raids.

On Thursday, federal authorities detained 319 people suspected of entering the United States illegally, according to DHS.

Agents also “rescued 14 children from potential forced labor,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said during a July 12 update.

It was those children that have become the focus of messaging from Washington in the days since.

“We think that they likely faced exploitation, potentially slave labor, human trafficking,” McLaughlin said during a Monday news segment also posted to DHS’ main account on X.

Kyle Kazan, Glass House Brands’ president, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MJBizDaily.

In a statement last week, the company said it complied with “valid” immigration warrants and denied it “knowingly” broke any immigration laws.

First known death from ICE raids in marijuana farm chaos

Thursday’s raids at Glass House Brands locations in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties left at least one worker dead from an apparent fall.

Jamie Alanis, 57, died on Saturday from injuries sustained during the raids Thursday, the first known death stemming from the Trump Administration’s ongoing immigration sweeps.

Alanis reportedly called family members to report he was hiding from immigration agents before falling 30 feet from a roof and breaking his neck, according to the Associated Press.

In addition to Alanis’ death, Thursday’s raids also resulted in a criminal manhunt for an individual suspected of firing a handgun in agents’ directions.

That incident, caught on video by news helicopters and posted widely online, was part of a larger chaotic clash.

Protestors who arrived on scene squared off against agents in camouflage and body armor, who deployed less-lethal rounds and tear gas to disperse crowds, among whom could be seen adolescents and children.

Child labor allowed on farms – but not marijuana farms

Glass House operated cannabis grows and vegetable cultivation at large greenhouses in Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County and Camarillo in Ventura County.

The company is currently defending itself from lawsuits filed by workers who claimed they were denied overtime pay and meal breaks to meet unrealistic work quotas.

However, the Trump Administration’s accusations of child labor appear to be the first time those allegations have been made.

Federal labor law allows children as young as 12 to “work outside of school hours in non-hazardous jobs on farms that also employ their parent(s) or with written parental consent.”

However, California’s legal marijuana industry imposes stricter standards, requiring workers to be at least 21.

In a statement Monday, the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) said that inspectors “observed no minors on the premises” during a May 2025 site visit.

However, “(a)fter receiving a subsequent complaint, the Department opened an active investigation to ensure full compliance with state law,” DCC spokesman David Hafner said in an email.

The DCC declined to share the complaint.

“We encourage anyone with information about child labor or trafficking at any facility to immediately contact the Department,” Hafner’s statement added.

“The Department of Cannabis Control does not participate in ICE raids.”

Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.