DHS Defends Immigration Enforcement Following California Marijuana Farm Arrests

ICE agents were ‘serving criminal search warrants as part of a criminal investigation involved with child trafficking, child labor,’ border czar Tom Homan said.

California National Guard troops face off with protesters during a federal immigration operation at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, Calif., on July 10, 2025. Blake Fagan/AFP

Administration officials on July 13 defended President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement operations, including one on a California marijuana farm last week that a worker advocacy group alleges led to a man’s death.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” on July 13 that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained 361 illegal immigrants and encountered 14 unaccompanied minors during a July 10 operation on two marijuana farms in Southern California.