Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement pursued migrant workers on California farms, triggering days of protests in response.
A video shared on Instagram from a produce farm in Oxnard, located about 70 miles northwest of recent riots in Los Angeles, captured a scene unfolding on a foggy Tuesday morning, where officers targeted a man laboring in the fields.
The farm worker attempted to flee but was quickly caught and restrained by two officers, who subdued him on the ground.
This incident was part of a series of arrests across Ventura County on Tuesday, coordinated alongside the FBI and leading to unrest throughout Southern California.
Daniel Larios, of the United Farm Workers Foundation—an organization that advocates for all U.S. farm laborers—criticized the arrests, emphasizing that they weren’t aimed at violent offenders but at individuals who help sustain agriculture in California.
“These are just innocent people trying to achieve their own American dreams,” Larios told ABC 7. “What’s happening here isn’t law enforcement; it feels more like a fear campaign against those merely trying to live and work in the United States.”
Oxnard’s Mayor, Lewis MacArthur, labeled the attacks as “unjust and harmful,” asserting that the arrests haven’t enhanced public safety and have instead created “confusion.”
The exact number of detentions during the ICE and FBI operation remains uncertain, but the Ventura County Farm Bureau, which represents local agricultural interests, reported that numerous migrant workers were arrested.
This particular arrest spurred protests outside Oxnard City Hall, where hundreds rallied for the release of immigrants and called for ICE to withdraw from the county.
Oxnard’s Police Chief, Jason Benitez, affirmed that his department would not participate in or endorse ICE’s activities.
Southern California has become a focal point for immigration issues under the Trump administration, leading to a five-day series of protests that saw clashes between demonstrators and police, with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass imposing a curfew after escalating violence resulted in over 150 arrests.
