Farmworkers in Ventura County, California, are staying home out of fear following recent federal immigration raids, forcing volunteers to step in with essential food deliveries.
At least once a week, volunteers from the nonprofit Friends of Fieldworkers gather to load and deliver food to farmworkers in the Ventura County area who are too afraid to leave their homes.
"They need to eat, and then they're not going to the fields because they're very scared," said Carolina Guillen, a volunteer with the organization.
The farmworkers are not only avoiding work in the fields where they pick food distributed nationwide, but they're also skipping trips to grocery stores.
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"They haven't left their homes, so yes, it's terror, they're terrorized," Guillen added.
The fear stems from federal immigration raids on farms in the region in early June.
Carolina Guillen, who has volunteered with Friends of Fieldworkers for several years, expressed disbelief about the situation.
"I think it's so so unbelievable because, you know. Ventura County, you know, they have, about 42,000 workers, and Ventura County, they get about, it's a $2 billion a year in industry," Guillen said, referring to the agriculture industry in Ventura County.
The nonprofit supports farmworkers in the area and works closely with growers who allow the organization to access their farms for on-site food deliveries. On this particular day, Guillen and another volunteer delivered food to 16 homes, while the entire volunteer team reached 60 families.
"The need has gone up for volunteers and for donations," Guillen said.
As Guillen drove through the streets of Oxnard, California, she explained her personal connection to the cause.
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"I see them and I can relate to them. I feel, you know, that it, it, it could have been me," Guillen said.
She too worked in fields from a young age.
"I was a farm worker probably from the time I was about 6 years old till I was a junior in high school," Guillen said. "Up and down the State of California. We would pick carrots, walnuts, strawberries, just different crops all year round."
The deliveries themselves are quick. The boxes are filled with essential items.
"It's a lot of the basics. They, they have rice, fideo, cans of tomatoes, oatmeal," Guillen said.
The recipients, whose faces are not being shown because of their fears, express deep gratitude.
"They are so grateful, they're so appreciative, you know, to get anything they're, they're they thank us over and over," Guillen said.
After the raids in Ventura County, President Trump has gone back and forth on his stance on enforcement on farms, most recently saying he's working on what he calls a temporary pass for undocumented farmworkers, suggesting farmers would be responsible for their workers.
During his campaign, the president promised to crack down on criminals, but Guillen says that's not what she's witnessing.
"I feel it is so unfair because everything they do for this country, you know, they also pay taxes. They're out there working, they're paying taxes, and a lot of them do not get the benefits," Guillen said.
Guillen believes things will ultimately change when consumers start feeling the economic impact.
"When the gardeners don't show up, the cleaning ladies don't show up, the, uh, you know, there's food on the table, it's more expensive, um, the cost of everything is gonna be up higher," Guillen said.
This story was reported on-air by Laura Acevedo with the Scripps News Group station in San Diego and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
