But Tuesday, he said, marked a new level in approach and scope as federal agents tried to access fields and packinghouses.
“So work with ICE, work with [U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services], and hire a legal workforce.
The California Farm Bureau also issued a statement, warning that continued enforcement would disrupt production.
“We want to be very clear: California agriculture depends on and values its workforce,” said Bryan Little, senior director of policy advocacy at the California Farm Bureau.
“But when they leave work, they’re very concerned.” Elaine Yompian, an organizer with VC Defensa, said she is urging families to stay home, if possible, to avoid exposure.
6 a.m. m. In search of any indications of trouble, Juvenal Solano drove cautiously on Wednesday along the cracked roads that encircle the strawberry and celery fields that cover this fertile region of Ventura County.
The morning was shrouded in a spooky silence. There were not many of the workers who would normally be moving up and down the strawberry rows. Many local farms had their entry gates locked and closed.
The Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project director, Solano, was nonetheless relieved. When immigration officials raided fields in Oxnard and spread out across communities in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties that produce a significant amount of the state’s celery, avocados, and strawberries on Tuesday, the resulting chaos was better left in silence.
When calls began coming in from locals reporting federal agents were congregating close to fields, the organization, which is a part of a larger rapid-response network that provides assistance and advice to workers targeted by immigration raids, was off guard. At least 35 people were arrested during the raids, according to group leaders, though they are still attempting to determine the precise number.
Solano stated that the organization had received sporadic reports of undocumented residents being arrested by immigration officials during the last week. However, as federal agents attempted to enter fields and packinghouses on Tuesday, he claimed that the approach and scope reached a new level. Like the other organizers, Solano is unsure of their next course of action.
Solano stated that if they did not arrive in the morning, they might do so in the afternoon. We will continue to keep an eye on everything that occurs. “”.
Much of the activity focused on the Oxnard Plain, although Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents appeared at food production locations from the Central Coast to the San Joaquin Valley. Federal agents inspected at least five farms and five packing plants in the area, according to Maureen McGuire, chief executive of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. According to her, agents also pulled over people en route to work.
According to McGuire and local leaders, the agents lacked judicial warrants and were frequently denied access by farm owners.
Over one-third of the country’s vegetables and over three-quarters of its fruits and nuts are grown in California, which has long relied on undocumented labor to care for its crops. Despite the fact that a growing percentage of farmworkers are seasonal migrants brought in under the contentious H-2A visa program, UC Merced research indicates that at least half of the state’s 255,700 farmworkers are undocumented immigrants. Many have made California their home, established roots, and raised families there.
The Department of Homeland Security’s extensive raids in urban areas, most recently in Orange and Los Angeles counties, had mostly avoided California’s agricultural sector until this week. Despite the president’s promises of mass deportations of undocumented workers, California farmers, many of whom are Trump supporters, have appeared remarkably composed.
With food rotting in the fields and grocery prices skyrocketing in the absence of enough workers, many anticipated that Trump would find ways to protect their workforce.
But the message this week was different. Tom Homan, Trump’s chief adviser on border policy, responded that growers should employ legal workers when asked about enforcement actions in areas that produce food.
“You can get people to come in and do that job,” he said, referring to programs. Thus, cooperate with ICE and [U]. A. Employ a legal staff and use Citizen and Immigration Services. Employing an illegal alien on purpose is against the law. “.”.
California’s two U. S. In a joint statement released Wednesday, the two Democratic senators condemned the farm raids and claimed that focusing on deporting farmworkers would harm families and businesses.
“It is unjustified and unconscionable to target hardworking farmworkers and their families who have been performing the arduous labor in the fields for decades,” Sens said. In their statement, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla said.
A statement from the California Farm Bureau also warned that production would be disrupted by ongoing enforcement.
Bryan Little, senior director of policy advocacy at the California Farm Bureau, stated, “We want to be very clear: California agriculture depends on and values its workforce.”. Although there isn’t much harvest activity yet, it will soon pick up speed. It will get harder to grow food, process it, and get it onto supermarket shelves if federal immigration enforcement actions keep going in this direction. “.”.
According to MICOP’s executive director, Arcenio Lopez, he is particularly worried about the possibility of detaining Indigenous workers because many of them speak only their Indigenous languages and are illiterate in English or Spanish. Leaders of the group believe that a large number of the people arrested on Tuesday are Indigenous, and they are racing to locate them before they sign unclear documents for voluntary deportation. Anyone who is arrested is encouraged to contact their hotline, where they provide legal aid.
The Ventura County Agricultural Association’s president, Rob Roy, stated that he has been educating growers about their legal rights and warning them that this moment would arrive since November. He stated that many people are aware of the need to request search warrants. On their way to and from work, however, undocumented workers remain vulnerable.
Overall, Roy said, “I think they’re pretty safe on the farms or the building.”. However, they are extremely worried when they leave work. “.”.
To prevent exposure, VC Defensa organizer Elaine Yompian said she is advising families to stay at home.
Yompian stated, “We actually told a lot of the families who contacted us, if you can potentially not work today, don’t go.” With the help of donations, they are able to offer families some assistance.
According to her, families whose loved ones have been detained are finding it difficult to comprehend what will happen next.
According to Yompian, “people are scared; they don’t know when they’re going to be targeted.”. There is no truth to the claim that they are removing criminals or undesirable individuals from society. The working class individuals who are merely attempting to make ends meet are being taken. “”.
