57-year-old farm worker Jaime Alanís had a much more tragic fate. He died in the middle of a violent immigration raid at Glass House Farms in Ventura County. He passed away merely a day before officials raided his home. Unfortunately, that joint operation resulted in the arrest of at least 200 workers. Alanís felt he had spent the lost decade of his life on the farm. Family members painted him as an innocent, hardworking provider.
Alanís during the raid had fallen about 30 feet from the greenhouse roof. At the time of his fall, he was not actively being pursued by police. Minutes before the crash, Alanís placed a video call to his family. He said he was in the bush, contemplating escaping from the agents.
Originally from Huajúmbaro, Michoacán, Mexico, Alanís was the only breadwinner of his family. His niece, Yesenia Duran, highlighted the family’s plight through a GoFundMe fundraiser, stating that her uncle’s absence leaves his wife and daughter anxiously waiting for him.
“My uncle Jaime was just a hard-working, innocent farmer. He has his wife and daughter waiting for him.” – Yesenia Duran
Alanís’s death is a particularly terrible milestone. He just became the first person confirmed to have died as a direct result of the Trump administration’s escalated immigration enforcement operations in Southern California. The federal government’s increased enforcement measures have wreaked havoc on communities in the region. This has triggered abnormal outrage and protests, particularly because most of those arrested had no criminal record to speak of.
For all its devastation, the civil society organization United Farm Workers announced that the raided families are long-term members of their agricultural workforce. They emphasized their ongoing work with numerous farm worker families navigating the difficult circumstances that followed this violent enforcement action.
“We’ll do everything we can to support them. We continue to work with hundreds of farm worker families navigating the aftermath of this violent raid.” – United Farm Workers