() Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed more than 300 immigrants in the U.S. illegally were apprehended at a pair of cannabis farms in Ventura County.
The agency said out of the 361 and counting arrests they’ve made during the Thursday raid, one of those apprehended is a convicted felon with a violent criminal history. The raid is shaping up to be the largest operation since President Donald Trump took office in January.
There were 14 children in the group, nine of them unaccompanied. DHS said they rescued the children from potential exploitation, forced child labor and human trafficking. One of the children was just 14 years old.
Others arrested in the group have convictions for rape, serial burglary, hit-and-run and DUIs, DHS said.
The FBI has a $50,000 reward out for the suspect who allegedly fired a gun at agents during a protest that broke out as a result of the operation.
“The amount of assaults that we’re seeing here far outstrips the amount of assaults for all 19,000 Border Patrol agents nationwide,” Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino told . “That’s just here in Los Angeles. We want to arrest bad people and anyone else that’s an illegal alien, and we want to do that with as much civility as we possibly can.”
One of the businesses is now under investigation for violating child labor laws. This comes as a federal judge ruled that DHS cannot conduct large-scale raids and operations based on controversial means like race or the language being spoken. Chief Bovino said that is not happening.
“It’s another fallacy and another tired, worn-out talking point. It’s not based in fact, of course,” Bovino said. “We’ve arrested individuals from a multitude of nationalities, whether it’s Chinese or folks from Central or South America, all over the place, so it’s never based on skin color, it’s just based on whether or not that individual is an illegal alien or not.”
DHS and Bovino said they will not be slowing down deportation efforts despite the judge’s ruling.
