Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents chased after migrants working at California farms in the latest set of raids that triggered days of protests.
Footage uploaded to Instagram from a produce farm in the city of Oxnard, about 70 miles northwest from the riots in Los Angeles, shows the moment ICE agents target a man working in the misty fields Tuesday morning.
The farmworker attempts to flee from the two officers, who easily chase him down and handcuff him on the ground.
The arrest was just one of several that took place Tuesday in Ventura County with the help of the FBI, leading to protests and anxiety in Southern California.
Daniel Larios — of the United Farm Workers Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for all farm workers in the US — said the wave of arrests is not targeting violent criminals, but workers who maintain the Golden State’s agriculture.
“They’re just taking innocent people who are trying to build their own American Dream,” Larios told ABC 7. “This is not law enforcement. It’s a campaign of fear against people whose only ‘crime’ is living and working in the US.”
Oxnard Mayor Luis McArthur condemned the raids as “unjustified and harmful,” claiming the arrests have done nothing to improve public safety, only “create chaos.”
It remains unclear how many people were detained during the joint operation with ICE and the FBI’s Los Angeles office, but the Farm Bureau of Ventura County — which represents local farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses — said dozens of immigrant workers were arrested.
The farmworkers’ arrests triggered protests outside Oxnard City Hall, with hundreds calling for the migrants to be released and for ICE agents to exit the county.
Oxnard Police Department Chief Jason Benites has said his department does not take part in, or assist, ICE’s activity.
Southern California has become the hotbed for the Trump administration’s immigration raids, which kicked off five days of violent protests across Los Angeles that have pitted Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom against President Trump.
The escalated violence led LA Mayor Karen Bass to implement a curfew on Tuesday night after days of riots, looting and clashes between protesters and police, which has resulted in more than 150 arrests.
