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US: Worker reportedly dies after immigration raid on farm

Midhat Fatimah with AFP, Reuters, dpa
July 12, 2025

Raids are part of Donald Trump's efforts to detain undocumented immigrants in the United States. During the raid on a farm that reportedly led to the death of a worker, officers arrested 200 undocumented immigrants.

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent watches as Customs and Border Protection officers hold the line against protestors in Camarillo, California
The Department of Homeland Security said approximately 200 undocumented immigrants were arrested during a raid on a cannabis farm in CaliforniaImage: BLAKE FAGAN/AFP/Getty Images

A farm worker reportedly died on Friday from injuries sustained during raids by US immigration officers at a cannabis farm in California the day before.

The United Farm Workers labor union said in a post on X on Friday that the worker had "died of injuries they sustained as a result of yesterday's immigration enforcement action."

However, AFP later reported, citing his family, that the farm worker was not dead but in critical condition.

During the raid, approximately 200 undocumented migrants were arrested, the authorities said.

Meanwhile, Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman, stated that the man had not been arrested.

"Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a green house and fell 30 feet (10 meters)," McLaughlin said.

"(Customs and Border Patrol) immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible," she added.

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Trump's latest crackdown on immigrants

The raids are part of US President Donald Trump's latest efforts to deport immigrants living in the United States illegally.

The events on a cannabis farm triggered protests and clashes with federal agents in rural Southern California on Thursday.

Trump called the demonstrators involved in attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents "slimeballs" and said they should be arrested.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he was authorizing law enforcement officers who are "on the receiving end of thrown rocks, bricks, or any other form of assault, to stop their car, and arrest these SLIMEBALLS, using whatever means is necessary to do so."

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Judge blocks some DHS tactics

Meanwhile, a judge in California ordered the DHS to temporarily pause some of its most aggressive tactics for arresting undocumented immigrants.

US District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered the department to develop guidelines for officers to determine reasonable suspicion based on factors other than a person's apparent race, ethnicity, language, accent, or occupation.

In a second ruling, the court ordered that detainees be granted the right to speak with a lawyer. The judge's orders apply only to Los Angeles and other areas of
Southern California.

California Governor Gavin Newsom hailed the decision. "Justice prevailed today  the court's decision puts a temporary stop to federal immigration officials violating people's rights and racial profiling," he said in a statement.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko

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