THERMAL, Calif. (KESQ) The Drug Enforcement Administration says Wednesday’s large-scale operation was aimed at illegal marijuana grows near Thermal, involving roughly 500 federal agents and covering more than 700 acres across the eastern Coachella Valley. Authorities say they arrested 70 to 75 undocumented migrants and one U.S. citizen for obstructing law enforcement, and said the number of arrest was preliminary information, subject to change.
Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez said the operation spanned far beyond the reported raid site, with federal agents seen throughout Mecca, Thermal, and even Coachella itself.
it didn’t happen just in, you know, the area where they said they were at,” Mayor Hernandez said. “It happened throughout the eastern Coachella Valley, and it happened in, thermal Oasis, Mecca, all throughout. Even in Coachella, they rode heavy through Coachella.”
News Channel 3 received multiple viewer videos showing multiple law enforcement en-mass at sites across the Coachella Valley on Wednesday.
But it wasn’t just the arrests drawing attention it was who showed up: agents from ICE, Border Patrol, the National Guard, and unmarked military-style vehicles. For Mayor Hernandez, the scope and scale of the operation was something unseen in his time in the Coachella Valley.
“I’ve never seen a 500 person crew, go into a marijuana field, and do such an operation,” he said. “I’ve never heard of it in the state of California. I’ve never heard of it in Riverside County. I’ve heard of 100, I’ve heard of 50, I’ve heard of large operations…And then I’ve also heard of, you know, when they actually let the local community know.”
He criticized the lack of communication from federal agencies, saying his office were never notified, and the matter has left some in the community gripped with fear.
“Very sad, very terrifying,” he explained. “A lot of fear. You know, the militarization of the approaches, the tactics. the goal was to create a presence and to, create fear and I think mission accomplished on their end. People were hiding in the fields in 115-degree heat,” Mayor Hernandez said. “Families didn’t know what was happening. It caused chaos.”
The DEA insists this was not an immigration enforcement action. But Hernandez, along with community advocates and some elected officials, questioned that distinction citing the visible ICE presence and the fact that the overwhelming majority of those arrested were undocumented.
“The facts speak for themselves,” Hernandez said. “If it wasn’t about immigration, why were 75 migrants taken?”
Asked about post on social media from residents and some elected officials describing the operation as an “ICE Raid” despite the DEA stating the operation was not an immigration enforcement action, Hernandez said it comes down to communication.
“Look, I think when there is a lack of communication,” Mayor Hernandez explained. “When the federal government and government is not communicating, then people are going to react the way they’re going to react. And you know, what we’ve seen across the US and what we’ve seen across California is that there is a lot of passion on both sides mobilizing and speaking out.”
Tune into News Channel Three at 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, and 6:30pm to hear more from Mayor Hernandez.
THERMAL, Calif. (KESQ) The Drug Enforcement Administration says Wednesday’s large-scale operation was aimed at illegal marijuana grows near Thermal, involving roughly 500 federal agents and covering more than 700 acres across the eastern Coachella Valley. Authorities say they arrested 70 to 75 undocumented migrants and one U.S. citizen for obstructing law enforcement, and said the Read More
