Dozens of Trafficked Illegal Immigrants Rescued From California Illegal Marijuana Site

The Merced County Sheriff’s Department in California discovered several migrants who are human trafficking victims living in “horrible” conditions and working as apparent indentured laborers at an illegal marijuana grow operation in Merced, Calif., on July 26, 2023. (Courtesy of Merced County Sheriff’s Department)

The Merced County Sheriff’s Department in California discovered dozens of illegal immigrants on July 26 living in “horrible” conditions and working as apparent indentured laborers at an illegal marijuana growing operation.

Sheriff’s investigators determined the approximately 60 people found were victims of human trafficking but were not allowed to detain them because of the state’s sanctuary-state policies.

“These folks are indentured,” Merced County Sheriff Vernon Warnke said in a video posted to social media Thursday. “They owe money. And yet, here we are at an illegal processing center, and they’re scared to death.”

The sheriff’s enforcement team visited the location on the 900 block of Vassar Avenue in Merced, about 110 miles southeast of San Francisco, Wednesday afternoon.

During a search, deputies discovered about 60 people working at the site, processing several hundreds of pounds of finished marijuana product, according to the sheriff’s department. Authorities additionally confiscated several hundred pounds of illegal marijuana at the location.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Department in California discovered several illegal immigrants who are human trafficking victims living in “horrible” conditions and working as apparent indentured laborers at an illegal marijuana grow operation in Merced on July 26, 2023. (Courtesy of Merced County Sheriff’s Department)

The illegal immigrants paid thousands of dollars to be transported across the border, the sheriff said, and were promised good-paying jobs and a place to stay. Once they arrived at the Merced site, however, they were forced to process marijuana while staying in “horrible living conditions” to pay back the people that brought them across the border, according to the sheriff’s office.

“It’s a travesty – a tragedy. All the things you can think about because we have 60 lives that have been upturned because of this,” Mr. Warnke said. “The human trafficking aspect of this is so blatant. It’s heart-wrenching.”

The group, which included men, women, and one teenager, were dropped off just days before investigators found them. They were sleeping in cars, some in closed trailers—such as U-Haul trailers—and others on a blanket on the ground in the weeds and only had two portable toilets, the sheriff told local news stations.

Most of the illegal immigrants, who ranged in age from 16 to 60 or older, walked away from the site on their own after refusing services offered to them, according to a sheriff’s spokeswoman.

“We offered everybody on-scene resources, and they all denied them,” spokeswoman Alexandra Britton told The Epoch Times. “They all left on their own accord.”

No one was arrested on scene, according to Ms. Britton.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Department in California discovered several illegal immigrants who are human trafficking victims living in “horrible” conditions and working as apparent indentured laborers at an illegal marijuana grow operation in Merced on July 26, 2023. (Courtesy of Merced County Sheriff’s Department)

Merced County Supervisor Josh Pedrozo said he was disgusted when he heard the news.

“It’s very disturbing to see this type of behavior, and to see people treating people this way—especially in 2023,” Mr. Pedrozo told The Epoch Times. “This is not something that I want to see in my county. … It’s slavery. I don’t know how else to say it.”

The sheriff’s department has done a good job patrolling the county for illegal growing operations and the county has cleaned some of it up, but it’s still going to happen, he said.

“It’s a very agriculturally based community, so people are coming here to work in the fields. I can’t say for a fact they’re not here to do other things,” Mr. Pedrozo said.

Sheriff investigators are continuing to investigate the matter to determine who was in charge of the operation.

Illegal marijuana growing operations in California have expanded in recent years and become dangerous for residents, according to some state elected officials who urged the U.S. Department of Justice to address the problem in May 2021.

There are roughly 5,000 greenhouses illegally cultivating marijuana in Siskiyou County, Calif., according to the county's Sheriff's Department in March 2023. (Courtesy of the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department)

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, about a dozen California representatives said illegal marijuana growing sites had been the scene of multiple homicides.

The representatives urged Mr. Garland to do more to address the issue.

Illegal growing sites had increased as much as 300 percent in some areas in 2020, according to the lawmakers.

Four years ago, also in Merced County, Sheriff Warnke formed a task force to address illegal black market growing operations.

The team has seized thousands of plants in the past few years.