House Republicans are launching an investigation into the migrant children rescued at a California marijuana farm during an immigration raid.
A joint Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operation executed search warrants at two marijuana grow sites in the California towns of Camarillo and Carpinteria on July 10, resulting in the arrest of hundreds of illegal migrants. Among those located by ICE and CBP agents were at least 10 juvenile illegal migrants, eight of whom were Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC), migrant children who entered the country unlawfully without a parent or guardian.
“The discovery of these juveniles at a marijuana facility, and in the presence of at least one dangerous illegal alien previously convicted of child molestation, highlights the continuing consequences of the Biden-Harris Administration’s open-border policies,” House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan wrote to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), letters of which were first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
In light of the discovery of UACs at these marijuana sites, working alongside potentially dangerous individuals and in alleged violation of labor laws, GOP leaders of the House Judiciary Committee are pressing the Trump administration for more information.
Jordan was joined by California GOP Rep. Tom McClintock, chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement. Both lawmakers are placing blame of the current situation on the Biden administration, which oversaw record levels of illegal migration, including large swaths of UACs.
“When CBP encounters a UAC at the border, the UAC is transferred to the care and custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and, in most cases, placed with a sponsor,” the lawmakers wrote. “The Committee and Subcommittee conducted extensive oversight last Congress into the failures of the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure the safety and security of UACs.”
“The discovery of UACs at a California marijuana farm raises questions about [Office of Refugee Resettlement] ORR’s placement of UACs — particularly during the Biden-Harris Administration — and the sufficiency of sponsor vetting,” the Republican lawmakers continued. “Pursuant to the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to conduct oversight of federal immigration policy and procedures.”
The Judiciary committee is asking DHS and HHS for information on the minors’ case history, detention status, family reunification information and other background details. The congressmen are asking DHS and HHS to hand over responsive documents by Aug. 7, according to the letters.
Federal immigration officials arrested at least 361 illegal migrants during the Camarillo and Carpinteria pot farm raids, according to DHS. Among them were several individuals with serious criminal histories, such as a Mexican national previously convicted of kidnapping, attempted rape and attempted child molestation, another Mexican national convicted of rape and driving under the influence, and an additional Mexican national previously convicted three different times for burglary and also driving under the influence.
The immigration raids attracted roughly 500 protesters at the time, some of whom allegedly became violent. The FBI later issued a $50,000 reward for information on an individual who fired bullets at federal agents. Several high-profile Democrats, apparently under the impression that the pot sites were regular produce farms, initially condemned the raids.
Graham Farrar, the president of Glass House of Farms, the company that owns and operates the two raided marijuana grow sites, has previously been a prolific donor to California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats, financial records show.
