A California farmworker who fell from a rooftop during a chaotic ICE raid in Southern California died from his injuries on Saturday, his family said.
Jaime Alanis, 57, had been working at a farm in Camarillo for 10 years, according to his relatives. Witnesses said he was hiding from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents when he fell from the roof and fractured his neck.
Alanis is believed to be the first person to die in an ICE raid since President Trump took office in January and began aggressively enforcing U.S. immigration law.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
National Guard soldiers block protestors during an ICE immigration raid at a nearby cannabis farm on Thursday near Camarillo, California.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorize American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the United Farm Workers union said in a statement. Alanis and others at the Camarillo facility were not represented by the union.
About 200 people suspected of entering the U.S. illegally were arrested Thursday in the raids at Camarillo and Carpintero facilities owned by Glass House Farms, federal officials said. Both farms are licensed to grow cannabis in California and the Camarillo facility also grows tomatoes and cucumbers.
Eight people were hospitalized following the raids, including Alanis, according to local officials. The Camarillo raid was met by a large group of protesters, and four people were arrested for interfering with federal agents.
Video showed one person appearing to fire a gun at the agents and a $50,000 reward was offered for tips leading to their arrest. No law enforcement officers were wounded in the confrontation.
The Department of Homeland Security said Alanis was not a target of Thursday’s raid and was never in ICE custody, nor was he actively being pursued when he fled to the greenhouse roof. His family said he worked to send money back to relatives in Mexico.
Earlier this year, Trump claimed ICE would stop raiding farms across the country to avoid disrupting the U.S. food chain. However, the raids resumed shortly afterward.
With News Wire Services
Originally Published: July 13, 2025 at 1:38 PM EDT
