10 illegal migrant kids found at raided California pot farm: ‘Looks like potential human trafficking’
Ten illegal migrant youths, most of them unaccompanied, were found at a California marijuana farm during a tense immigration raid on Thursday, prompting federal officials to launch an investigation into possible child labor violations.
The youngsters, one just 14 years old, were discovered by federal agents at Glass House Farms in Southern California during a chaotic operation in which one protester appeared to fire a gun at authorities, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said on X Thursday.
“This is Newsom’s California,” Scott said in response to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who shared a video of the raid.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin revealed Friday the feds “rescued” eight of the minors, who crossed the border “unaccompanied.”
McLaughlin said the alarming situation “looks like exploitation, violation of child labor laws and potentially human trafficking or smuggling.”
Scott announced the child labor probe into the farm in his Thursday night social media post.
The farm’s president, Graham Farrar, is a regular donor to Democratic politicians, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Farrar has donated to the Santa Barbara County Democratic Central Committee’s federal political action committee and Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif, on multiple occasions, according to the records.