U.S. Army Veteran George Retes Detained by ICE During Workplace Raid Despite Citizenship Claims

George Retes woke up on July 10, 2025, hoping the day would change his life for the better. Retes, an Army veteran, worked as a security contractor for a legal cannabis farm in Ventura County, California. After seven months on the graveyard shift—working from midnight to 8 a.m.—he was eager to transition to a daytime schedule to spend more time with his family.

"I do everything for my kids," says the 25-year-old father. "That's what it's all for."

When he finally secured the new schedule, Retes saw it as the perfect opportunity. Things seemed normal that Thursday as he drove along the back roads to work his first day shift. But as he pulled up to the entrance of his workplace, he encountered pandemonium: cars blocking the road, some without drivers, and others zigzagging around obstacles. Alongside other federal agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was present, as were protesters.

President Donald Trump had begun rolling out his mass deportation campaign in early 2025. By June, workplace raids were sweeping across Southern California as agents aimed to arrest 3,000 people per day, sparking widespread panic and disorder. After protests erupted in Los Angeles, Trump deployed roughly 4,000 National Guard members to quell the unrest. Without a warning call from work instructing him not to come in, Retes pressed on.

"I still got to go to work like normal," he says. "I need to get paid. I still need to keep a roof over my kids' heads."

Such incidents have played out thousands of times during the second Trump administration. People leave their homes for work, school, or appointments, only to find themselves trapped in the chaos of an immigration raid.

Making his way through parked cars and protesters, Retes eventually reached a line of agents blocking the road. Hoping to make it to work on time, he pulled up and asked to pass.

"I was a good distance away, and I put my car in park," he says. "I got out, stood by my car." The agents began yelling:

"Get the fuck out of here!"
"Leave!"
"Get back in your car!"
"Pull over to the side!"
"You're not going to work."
"Work is closed."

Retes asked for a badge number to provide to his boss for his absence, but the agents grew more hostile. According to a November 2025 report by the Cato Institute, roughly three out of four ICE detainees have no criminal record and are otherwise law-abiding undocumented immigrants—but some, like Retes, are U.S. citizens.

"Literally the first words out of my mouth were that I was a U.S. citizen, that I'm just trying to get to work…and they just didn't care," Retes says. "They were immediately hostile from the get-go."

Rather than escalate the situation further, Retes complied with the agents' demands and returned to his car to follow their directions.