CAMARILLO, Calif. (KABC) — A farmworker who suffered serious injuries during an immigration raid at a cannabis farm near Camarillo on Thursday died, according to his family.
In a post shared on social media, Jaime Alanís Garcia’s niece said he died on Saturday afternoon.
A GoFundMe page set up by his family to help cover medical and funeral expenses was updated with the following statement: “With heavy hearts my uncle has passed away.”
In a statement his family wrote, “Jaime was not just a farm worker, he was a provider, and a human being who deserved dignity. His death is not an isolated tragedy. It is the result of a targeted raid at Glass House Farms. Workers were met not with protection, but with chaos and fear. Some were detained. Others were traumatized. Jaime lost his life.”
On Friday, the Ventura County Medical Center, on behalf of the family, said Garcia was still in the hospital in critical condition.
The news of his death comes after United Farm Workers (UFW), in a series of posts, confirmed some farmworkers were critically injured during the enforcement operation on Thursday.
“Other workers, including US citizens, remain unaccounted for,” they said in a post.
A woman who reached out to Eyewitness News said her family member, Garcia, fell 30 feet off a building while he was possibly trying to run from federal agents chasing him.
He was taken to the hospital with a broken neck and skull.
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement that said:
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP or ICE custody. Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30 feet. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
Garcia’s family says he was working at a farm in the area to send money home to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
According to the UFW, the other injured workers are not believed to have life-threatening injuries.
