Farmworker injured during Southern California immigration raid has died, family says

A farm worker who was hospitalized with a brain injury during an immigration raid at a Ventura County cannabis farm has died, his family confirmed Saturday.

On July 10, Jaime Alanís was attempting to evade officers when he fell 30 feet from a building and was hospitalized with critical injuries.

He remained on life support at the Ventura County Medical Center. His family said he would remain on life support until his wife arrived from Mexico to be by his side and say goodbye.

On Saturday afternoon, family members confirmed that Alanís had died.

“With heavy hearts, my uncle has passed away,” his niece wrote on a GoFundMe page to help the man’s family.

His niece, who did not want to be identified, said Alanís had been texting the family until the time of the accident.

“He was hiding, and moments later, he doesn’t respond, and we knew something happened,” she said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Alanís was not in custody during the incident, nor was he being chased.

“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a green house and fell 30 feet,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”

Family members said Alanís has been working in the U.S. for 30 years to provide for his wife and daughter back in Mexico.

United Farm Workers issued a statement on Friday that confirmed farmworkers were critically injured during the raids and that “other workers, including U.S. citizens, remain unaccounted for.”

The July 10 raids at the Glass House cannabis farm near Camarillo and another farm in Carpinteria are believed to be the largest single-day immigration enforcement operations in California history. 

In an X post on Saturday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said officers arrested “319 illegal aliens” and “rescued 14 children from potential forced labor, exploitation, and trafficking.”