The footage of farmworkers pursued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through the fields was seen nationwide. The scene, filmed on June 10 in Oxnard, the “California strawberry capital” in Ventura County, about 100 kilometers west of Los Angeles, shocked residents and sparked unprecedented solidarity to protect undocumented people.
Unmarked vehicles arrived early in the morning. It was a coordinated raid involving several units. “We had never seen border patrol and immigration police patrolling together,” explained Primitiva Hernandez, executive director of the nonprofit 805 UndocuFund, which raises money to support undocumented immigrants.
The raid caused panic among farmworkers. California produces more than a third of the nation’s vegetables and three-quarters of its fruit and nuts. The sector employs 255,000 people, 60% of whom are undocumented. Ventura County, which includes Oxnard, is home to around 30,000 agricultural workers across about 20 farms. Most hail from Indigenous regions of Mexico, particularly around Oaxaca in the south. Many speak neither Spanish nor English fluently.
You have 86.88% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
