ICE Raids at Two Glass House Cannabis Farms Pit Protesters Against Rubber Bullets, Smoke Grenades

Protests erupted during ICE raids Thursday at two Glass House Farms cannabis sites in California. Rubber bullets and flash bangs rained down on crowds gathering near the Carpinteria facility when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the National Guard clashed with protesters decrying the federal government’s detainment of 10 farm workers, the Santa Barbara Independent wrote.

The licensed cannabis company’s Camarillo facility in Ventura County also faced a large-scale raid and protests.

The Independent reported that the 805 Immigrant Coalition and 805 UndocuFund confirmed that the raids began just after 10 a.m. on July 10, releasing urgent community alerts about the raids:

“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.”

Some of the protesters were unsure who exactly was on the premises. One onlooker told a local reporter with Edhat Santa Barbara, “It’s very hard to make a distinction between agencies here. Are they ICE, police, DEA, military, contractors … who are these guys?”

Protesters later clashed with ICE officials, as a social media video reveals. Rubber bullets, smoke bombs and flash bangs whizzed through the air at the Carpinteria farm in Santa Barbara County, sending protesters running from the attacks.

In a statement to Coastal View News, Carpinteria City Vice Mayor Mónica Solórzano said she was upset that “the agents felt it was necessary to throw flash-bang and smoke grenades into the crowd, despite the fact that our residents were not being disruptive or violent in any way.”

Later, U.S. House Rep. Salud Carbajal, who was denied entry to the farm, decried the raids as unsafe and militarized. Carbajal told Coastal View News, “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.”

At the Camarillo protests, a man tried to stop a military vehicle by stepping in front, but the vehicle kept going forward, reported ABC7. Eventually, he moved aside, but not before throwing what appeared to be a bottle of water at the windshield.

The Ventura Fire Department took three people to area hospitals, SFGATE reported.

Camarillo City Councilmember Dr. Martita Martinez-Bravo told ABC7 how the immigration enforcement at these agricultural sites can have a dangerous ripple effect.

“We are in serious trouble,” he said. “The farm working community, the agricultural workforce, was already struggling. They’ve already been struggling to get workers out on the field. And now with these additional tactics being utilized by the federal government, unfortunately, somebody’s gonna have to pay the price, and I think that might be us, and that will also be the agricultural growers whose food may rot.”

Later on Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office issued a critical statement regarding Thursday’s immigration enforcement operations, shining a spotlight on President Donald Trump’s top adviser.

“[White House Deputy Chief of Staff] Stephen Miller’s tactics evoke chaos, fear and terror within our communities at every turn,” Newsom said. “At Miller’s direction, Trump’s agents continue to detain U.S. citizens and racially profile Americans, ripping families apart and disappearing parents and workers into cruel federal detention centers to meet their self-imposed arrest quotas.”

Glass House Brands released a statement on its X account, writing, “Glass House Farms were visited today by ICE Officials. The company fully complied with agent search warrants and will provide further updates if necessary.”

A social media video from the 805 Immigrant Coalition caught interactions between protesters and ICE agents, with the video uploader asking, “Are these really criminals?”

Glass House sells bulk flower and trim to other producers and offers consumer products through its own and third-party stores. With up to 6 million square feet of cultivation space and 10 retail locations, it has the largest cannabis footprint in the state, according to the company.

Its Q1 2025 report impressed analysts: Retail sales surged 18.4% year-over-year, while California’s overall market declined 13%.