- In July 2025, claims circulated online that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had detained George Retes, a disabled veteran and U.S. citizen, during an immigration raid at a farm in Camarillo, California.
- In a statement to Snopes, the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged Retes was arrested and had since been released from custody.
- Retes’ family members previously told KABC, a Los Angeles news station, that he is a disabled veteran and a U.S. citizen. The KABC report also included a photo of a man the station said was Retes wearing what appeared to be an Army uniform. United Farm Workers, a labor union, also referred to Retes as an American citizen and disabled Army veteran.
- DHS did not address claims about Retes’ status, and Snopes was unable to independently confirm the information about his citizenship and military service. ICE had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
In July 2025, claims circulated online that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had detained George Retes, a disabled veteran and U.S. citizen, during an immigration raid at a farm in Camarillo, California.
Retes worked security at the farm, according to social media posts. His family allegedly did not receive any information about his whereabouts after ICE detained him, the posts added. The social media posts also included footage from a TV news report about Retes’ purported detainment.
Multiple Snopes readers searched our website to ask whether it was true that ICE detained Retes and that he was a disabled Army veteran and U.S. citizen.
In a statement to Snopes on July 14, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security — the Cabinet agency over ICE — acknowledged Retes was arrested and had since been released from custody.
Retes’ family members previously told KABC, a Los Angeles news station, that he is a disabled veteran and a U.S. citizen. The KABC report also included a photo of a man the station said was Retes wearing what appeared to be an Army uniform.
United Farm Workers, a labor union, also referred to Retes as “an American citizen” and “disabled U.S. Army veteran.”
DHS did not address the claims about Retes’ status, and Snopes was unable to independently confirm the information about his citizenship and military service. We will update this story if we receive confirmation that Retes was a veteran and U.S. citizen.
ICE had not responded to a request for comment at the time of this writing.
Here’s a breakdown of what we know so far about Retes’ detainment and the immigration raid at the Camarillo farm:
UFW, DHS address Retes’ detainment
On July 13, 2025, UFW wrote about Retes’ detainment in a thread on X (archived):
George Retes, an American citizen disabled US Army veteran who has been held in federal custody since Thursday, was released without charges this evening.
Mr. Retes was wrongfully arrested while driving near the chaotic and deadly raid targeting farm workers near Camarillo, CA on July 10. His wife was unable to contact him and located his abandoned vehicle with the windows smashed and a smell of chemical agent inside.
He and his family are grateful for the widespread support but have asked for privacy. They do not wish to speak with press at this time.
George Retes, an American citizen disabled US Army veteran who has been held in federal custody since Thursday, was released without charges this evening. 1/ pic.twitter.com/8PvZNGau3H
— United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) July 14, 2025
DHS confirmed Retes’ arrest in an email to Snopes on July 14, 2025, adding that he was released from custody and “has not been charged.” Tricia McLaughlin, the agency’s assistant secretary for public affairs, wrote:
George Retes was arrested and has been released. He has not been charged. The US Attorney’s Office is reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal charges related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo.
McLaughlin did not address Retes’ citizenship status or confirm reports that he is a disabled veteran.
Snopes also reached out to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office for additional information about Retes’ detainment. A spokesperson for the agency said authorities were not “provided the identities of any individuals who were detained by federal authorities during their operation.” The spokesperson added, “Any individuals taken into federal custody would have been taken to a federal detention facility.”
What we know about Camarillo immigration raid
DHS said in a statement that “federal law enforcement officers executed criminal warrant operations at marijuana grow sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo” on July 10, 2025.
Federal officers arrested at least 361 people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, DHS said in the statement released on July 13. The agency added that “at least 14 migrant children have been rescued from potential exploitation, forced labor and human trafficking.”
According to reports from NBC News and the BBC, federal agents and protesters clashed at the Camarillo site. Federal agents used tear-gas and less-lethal weapons against protesters while employees in the grow house were “being rounded up and arrested,” NBC News reported.
In its July 13 statement, DHS said “four U.S. citizens are being criminally prosecuted for assaulting or resisting officers.” People who the department described as “rioters” allegedly damaged vehicles, and one person reportedly fired a gun at law-enforcement officers, the federal agency added.
Farm workers were “critically injured” during the raids, according to a UFW statement on July 11, and news media outlets reported that one worker later died. The union also said some U.S. citizens remained “totally unaccounted for” following the raids.
The full UFW statement is as follows:
The UFW can confirm farm workers were critically injured yesterday during chaotic raids in Ventura County, California. Others, including US citizens remain totally unaccounted for.
Our staff is on the ground supporting families. Many workers, including U.S. citizens, were held by federal authorities at the farm for 8 hours or more. U.S. citizen workers report only being released after they were forced to delete photos and videos of the raid from their phones.
The UFW is also aware of reports of child labor on site. The UFW demands the immediate facilitation of independent legal representation for the minor workers, to protect them from further harm. Farm workers are excluded from basic child labor laws and it is unfortunately not uncommon for teenagers to work in the fields. To be clear: detaining and deporting children is not a solution for child labor.
These violent and cruel federal actions terrorize American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families.
There is no city, state or federal district where it is legal to terrorize and detain people for being brown and working in agriculture. These raids must stop immediately
Glass House Brands acknowledged in an X post that ICE officials visited its farms on July 10, adding that “the company fully complied with agent search warrants and will provide further updates if necessary.”
In a follow-up post on July 11, Glass House Brands said it “received immigrant and naturalization warrants.” The company “verified that the warrants were valid” and complied with them, the post said.
The company added that it was assisting in providing legal representation to detained workers and denied reports that it employed minors.
Yesterday, Glass House Brands received immigration and naturalization warrants. As per the law, we verified that the warrants were valid and we complied.
Workers were detained and we are assisting to provide them legal representation.
Glass House has never knowingly violated…
— Glass House Brands Inc. (@GlassHouseBR) July 11, 2025
Retes’ family members speak about his detainment
Retes’ sister and wife spoke to Josh Haskell, a reporter for KABC in Los Angeles, about his detainment in Camarillo. They told Haskell that Retes, who works as a security guard at Glass House Farms, is a disabled veteran and U.S. citizen.
“ICE thought he was probably part of the protest, but he wasn’t. He was trying to reverse his car,” said Retes’ sister, Destinee Majana. “They broke his window, they pepper-sprayed him, they grabbed him, threw him on the floor. They detained him.”
Majana and Retes’ wife, Guadalupe Torres, said they were calling people to find out where Retes was taken, but nobody could tell them where he was.
“We don’t know what to do. We’re just asking to let my brother go. He’s a U.S. citizen. He didn’t do anything wrong. He’s a veteran, disabled citizen. It says it on his car,” Majana added.
Haskell’s report for KABC also included a photo of a man the station said was Retes wearing what appeared to be an Army uniform.
When contacted by Snopes, Haskell did not provide documentation verifying Retes’ citizenship and military service
Torres also spoke to NBC News about Retes’ detainment. She said her husband complied with federal officers while checking on friends and colleagues who may have been affected by the raids, according to the NBC report. Instead, Retes was “arrested on suspicion of assault,” NBC reported, citing immigration officials. A hearing was reportedly scheduled for July 14.
Snopes reached out to ICE for comment about Retes’ detainment and will update this story if we receive a response.
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