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DHS says California marijuana-facility sweep found migrants accused of serious crimes; 14 children placed with HHS
Summary
Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security said a recent operation at California marijuana facilities detained numerous noncitizens she described as convicted or accused of violent crimes and that 14 children found at the sites are now in HHS custody.
Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said an operation at two marijuana facilities in California detained a number of noncitizens she described as having serious criminal convictions or charges. McLaughlin said among those present were people she identified as convicted murderers, kidnappers, drug traffickers and child molesters and that the operation turned up children working at the facilities.
McLaughlin said, “among these, aliens was 14 children who were working on these marijuana facilities, and, they actually 10 of them were unaccompanied.” She added that the children “may have been exploited. They may have been trafficked, potentially slave or forced labor,” and said those children are now in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The assistant secretary characterized the detained noncitizens as “the worst of the worst,” and listed categories of alleged offenders, including MS-13 and people she described as “known or suspected terrorists.” McLaughlin attributed those characterizations to DHS enforcement work; she did not provide court records or other documentary evidence during the briefing.
The DHS statement did not specify the precise number of adults detained at the sites in a manner that could be independently confirmed from the briefing transcript. McLaughlin said only that the operation occurred at two California facilities and emphasized that children found there are now in HHS custody. The department did not, in the briefing, provide additional details about criminal case statuses, court filings, or the jurisdictions handling any prosecutions.
Because McLaughlin spoke about potential exploitation and trafficking in a public briefing rather than presenting court documents, those descriptions are claims made by DHS in announcing the operation. The department’s public affairs office said the children were transferred to HHS custody; the briefing did not specify follow-up placement, caseworkers, or a timeline for reunification or immigration proceedings.
The remarks came as part of a wider DHS briefing about enforcement activity; no motions, votes or legal actions were announced during the remarks.
