Community organization pushes for public records on Ventura County immigration operation

The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) has filed a Public Records Act lawsuit on behalf of the nonprofit community organization Buen Vecino, seeking to require Ventura County and the sheriff to release video footage of deputy sheriffs’ actions during a recent controversial immigration enforcement operation.

On Thursday, July 10, an immigration enforcement raid at a cannabis farm in Ventura County resulted in a confrontation with demonstrators. The operation occurred at Glass House Farms, the largest cannabis cultivation business in the area. Border Patrol said it served a warrant on the farm because it was accused of hiring undocumented workers, according to ABC News.

The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the time called it “one of the largest operations since President Trump took office.” Additionally, during the raid, federal officials requested help from the Ventura County sheriff’s department.

According to a statement by the sheriff, the department sent a “tactical response team” to “keep the peace between protestors and federal agents.” The sheriff disclaimed any intent to “participate in immigration raids.”

“Especially in light of California law that limits the ability of local agencies to participate in immigration enforcement, the people have a compelling interest in full transparency in knowing exactly what the sheriff’s deputies did,” said David Loy, FAC’s legal director.

Many protestors at the time documented the events from outside the farm, but tensions quickly escalated when immigration officials began to fire rubber bullets, stun grenades and smoke canisters, sending the crowd to run in the opposite direction throughout the farm fields. “This administration is targeting workers who help feed our country, not criminals. They're determined to spread fear and terror,” according to the United Farm Workers Foundation (UFWF).

During the raid, one person died after falling from a greenhouse roof, and more than 300 individuals were arrested. Federal officers tear-gassed protestors. Elected officials denounced the raid, which was widely covered by local and national press.

That day, Governor Gavin Newsom's office immediately issued a statement regarding the immigration enforcement operations that took place in Ventura County: “There's a real cost to these inhumane immigration actions on hardworking families and communities, including farmworker communities, across America. Instead of supporting the businesses and workers that drive our economy and way of life, Stephen Miller's tactics evoke chaos, fear and terror within our communities at every turn. At Miller's direction, Trump's agents continue to detain U.S. citizens and racially profile Americans, ripping families apart and disappearing parents and workers into cruel federal detention centers to meet their self-imposed arrest quotas.”

The Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) was also dispatched at approximately 12:15 pm to provide medical help as a result of federal enforcement activity along Laguna Road. “VCFD was requested through our county's 911 system solely to provide medical aid and has no connection with any federal immigration enforcement actions,” the agency said in a statement. The protest at Glass House Farms became an all day protest after the immigration operation occurred.

Weeks later, Buen Vecino asked the sheriff’s department for copies of “any and all body-worn camera footage, including audio, video or photographs recorded at or in relation to the operation.” The department denied the request, contending the footage was exempt from disclosure as a record of a law enforcement investigation.

The lawsuit argues that the investigatory records exemption does not apply to this case because the sheriff said the officers were present to keep the peace, not to investigate any alleged crimes.

“We don’t know why the Sheriff’s Office has tried to block transparency to the actions of its officers at the Glass House raid, but there is tremendous public interest and we demand that they fulfill their obligation to release these records,” said Willie Lubka, executive director of Buen Vecino.

Buen Vecino v. County of Ventura was filed in the Superior Court of Ventura County.