U.S. Citizen and Army Veteran Detained by ICE During California Workplace Raid

George Retes, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen and Army veteran, was detained by federal agents during an immigration enforcement operation at the cannabis farm where he worked in Ventura County, California, on July 10, 2025. Retes had just switched from the graveyard shift to daytime hours after seven months and was driving to his first day on the new schedule.

He encountered a large operation involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies along with protesters blocking roads near the workplace. President Donald Trump had begun a mass deportation campaign in early 2025, with workplace raids occurring across Southern California by June as agents targeted a goal of 3,000 arrests per day.

After protests in Los Angeles, roughly 4,000 National Guard members were deployed to the area.

Retes said he received no warning from his employer not to report to work. He told agents he needed to reach the site to maintain his employment and support his children. Retes said he stopped a good distance from a line of agents, put his car in park and stepped out to ask if he could pass.

Agents yelled conflicting instructions at him, including to leave, get back in his car, pull over and that work was closed. He asked for a badge number to explain his absence to his employer, which he said further angered the agents. "Literally the first words out of my mouth was that I was a U.S.

citizen, that I'm just trying to get work…and they just didn't care," Retes said. " Retes returned to his car and attempted to leave as directed. Agents then surrounded the vehicle, banged on the windows and pulled on the door handles while continuing to issue contradictory commands.

As he reversed to clear the area, agents deployed tear gas toward protesters behind him, filling his car with the irritant. Retes, who had experienced tear gas during basic training, said the effects were more disorienting as a civilian. Agents approached again, broke his car window and pepper-sprayed him in the face before dragging him from the vehicle.

He said he did not resist but was held down with an agent kneeling on his back and another on his neck as he told them he could not breathe. Agents zip-tied his hands and walked him back to the farm while asking which officer would take responsibility for what had happened to him. Retes sat zip-tied in the dirt for four hours.

He said agents asked for his identification only once, and he directed them to his car, which had disabled veteran license plates. He remained uncertain whether they checked it. Later that day, agents placed Retes in an unmarked car and drove him to a Navy base where they took his fingerprints, photograph and a DNA sample via mouth swab.

He was read his rights and told that authorities were investigating the incident and his presence there, but he was not informed of any charges. Retes was then transported to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. He was processed, strip-searched and placed in a cell.

His requests to contact family or a lawyer were ignored, as were his requests for a shower to remove residue from tear gas and pepper spray. He described burning sensations on his skin that persisted through the night. The following morning, after a medical evaluation that included mental health questions, Retes was placed in a suicide watch cell.

By October 2025, ProPublica had identified at least 170 U.S. citizens who had been detained during immigration enforcement actions, though the federal government does not track such incidents comprehensively. A November 2025 Cato Institute report stated that roughly three out of four ICE detainees have no criminal record.

Retes was held for three days before his release.