U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted enforcement activities at cannabis production facilities in Ventura County near Camarillo and in other locations in Southern California on July 10. News reports from the area indicate heavy presence of federal law enforcement, including what appeared to be National Guard personnel, the presence of protesters apparently attempting to interfere with ICE operations, and reports of the use of either tear gas or smoke cannisters as a crowd control technique.

The reasons for targeting cannabis production facilities is unclear at this point, but the California Employment Development Department in a notice titled, “Non-U.S. Citizen Referral Process and Possible Legal Consequences When Working in the Cannabis Industry,” issued in February 2019 highlighted possible problems for non-U.S. citizens employed in cannabis production:

…Non-United States (U.S.) citizens who work in the cannabis industry may suffer negative immigration consequences. Non-U.S. citizens include persons with any immigration status other than U.S. citizenship, such as lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees, and people with temporary visas or forms of protection (e.g., Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Temporary Protected Status, U visa, T visa, Parole in Place, etc.). Immigration law is federal, and under federal law, it remains an offense to possess marijuana or work in the cannabis industry. Working in the cannabis industry could prevent a non-citizen from obtaining a visa or other immigration benefit, make the non-citizen deportable, or bar their eligibility for citizenship.

California cannabis production has become heavily integrated with food, fiber and ornamentals production, with cannabis facilities often adjacent to or co-located with other types of agriculture. As a result, an ongoing focus on cannabis production by federal immigration enforcement will likely cause concern among agricultural employees and cause problems for other types of agriculture.

FELS Newsletter subscribers can access helpful information related to immigration enforcement at FELS Resources: Immigration & Hiring.