Congressman Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, and Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva discussed rising crime and the unlawful draining of water caused by illegal marijuana grows in the Antelope Valley north of Santa Clarita Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Garcia and Villanueva held a press conference in Lancaster to talk about the effects of illegal marijuana grows in the Antelope Valley and the steps they are looking to take to prevent future grows.

“A few million gallons of water a day are being used on these illegal grows,” Garcia said. “We have illegal immigrants working as indentured servants under the cartels. We have local residents being threatened by these workers, sometimes at gunpoint.”

Garcia and Villanueva’s press conference comes after the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) conducted the largest illegal grow bust in Los Angeles County history nearly a month ago on June 8.

See Related: 74 Greenhouses Worth Over $50 Million Bulldozed In Largest Illegal Grow Bust In L.A. County History 

Both Villanueva and Garcia have announced they intend to continue cracking down on illegal grows in the high desert, which they say have caused plenty of damage to those living in the Antelope Valley.

Garcia cited an increase in violent crime attributed to the illegal growers.

“These operations are putting our constituents and our residents in harm’s way, they’re threatening them on a daily basis,” Garcia said. “We’re getting testimony daily from our constituents about how they’re being threatened, in many cases with firearms and extreme violence.”

Additionally, the growers have unlawfully drained the Antelope Valley’s water resources by knocking over fire hydrants and stealing water from farmers in the area during the night, according to Villanueva.

He also said pesticides from the grows contaminate the local water supply, and that waste from the grows has filled parts of the desert that used to be clear.

“It looks like open-air garbage dumps,” Villanueva said.

Garcia explained his view on why illegal grows have become so prevalent in the high desert.

“It’s a symptom of, frankly, not defending and supporting law enforcement, not giving them the resources to go combat this,” Garcia said. “It’s a symptom of the open borders and having so many folks here that are willing to work in these conditions just to pay off their debt to the cartels.”

In spite of the recent Antelope Valley illegal marijuana grow bust, which reduced the portion of grows in the high desert, the fight against illegal growers is not over.

“We’re working at all levels of government, federal, state and local levels,” Garcia said. “There’s a lot more to do, and we’ve got the commitment of Alex Villanueva that he’s going to keep working until it’s done.”

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