When immigration agents came to the farm where he worked, Jaime Alanis tried to hide. Climbing to the roof of a greenhouse, while agents rounded up and arrested dozens of his coworkers below, Mr Alanis hoped to stay out of sight.

On the heels of major shows of force by federal immigration agents in Southern California, a judge is set to rule in a lawsuit seeking to halt immigration raids in Los Angeles.

The Border Patrol began conducting operations in Sacramento on Thursday, as two federal court rulings have ordered them to stop warrantless raids.