Records show that Graham Farra, co-founder and president of Glass House Farms, a site where migrant children as young as 14 were found working, has contributed thousands of dollars to Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state Democrats.
Glass House Farms, based in Ventura County, is California’s largest cannabis cultivator and was once praised as a leader in “green,” environmentally friendly cannabis.
ICE agents rounded up 361 undocumented workers last Thursday, including 14 minors-eight of whom were unaccompanied-during a raid that turned violent as protesters clashed with officers. One worker died after falling from a greenhouse during the operation.
Farra has previously contributed to numerous Democratic candidates and causes in California, including a $10,000 donation to Gavin Newsom’s 2018 campaign.
Campaign finance records also show he gave to the Santa Barbara County Democratic Central Committee’s federal PAC and to Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA). In 2019, the Los Angeles Times reported that Farra was photographed presenting an oversized check to local school officials for a scholarship fund.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” the farm’s parent company, Glass House Brands, incredulously said in an X post.
“We are focused on taking care of our people and our plants,” Farrar himself said in an X post reported by Fox News before he or someone else deleted it.
Glass House Brands, co-founded by Graham Farra and former police officer and teacher Kyle Kazan, had a market cap of $300 million as of last year, according to business blogger Alejandro Cremades.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Kazan is a supporter of President Trump. The company, which markets itself on sustainable and ethical practices—including low-carbon and water-efficient farming—did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“It’s a saga of passion, perseverance, and a profound belief in the positive impact of cannabis on individuals and society,” Cremades wrote of Farra’s career in the business.
However, the Trump administration is telling a different version of the story. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the conditions for the children looked “like exploitation, forced child labor, and potentially human trafficking or smuggling while facing assault and even gunfire.”
Juan Duarte-Velasquez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico with prior rape and DUI convictions, was among those arrested on the farm.
Newsom did not respond to a New York Post request for comment about the donations he has received from Farra or the fact that unaccompanied migrant children were found there. But he did find time to criticize Fox News for its coverage.
“Sure is rich for Fox News and the Trump Admin to point to campaign donations to Democrats, when in fact, the CEO is a Trump supporter who donated to my recall and has given to more Republicans,” he posted on the X platform.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has given federal immigration agents “total authorization” to defend themselves in the wake of violent clashes with protesters during a recent enforcement operation at the California cannabis farm.
The authorization came after the president said on Truth Social he watched in disbelief “as THUGS were violently throwing rocks and bricks at ICE Officers while they were moving down a roadway in their car.”
“Therefore, I am directing Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, and Border Czar, Tom Homan, to instruct all ICE, Homeland Security, or any other Law Enforcement Officer who is on the receiving end of thrown rocks, bricks, or any other form of assault, to stop their car, and arrest these SLIMEBALLS, using whatever means is necessary to do so. I am giving Total Authorization for ICE to protect itself, just like they protect the Public.”
He added: “I never want to see a car carrying a Law Enforcement Officer attacked again! AUTHORIZATION IMMEDIATELY GRANTED FOR ARREST AND INCARCERATION.”
