ICE detains 25 workers and one customer at local car washes

As immigration raids continue to increase throughout California, ICE agents have visited multiple local car wash locations such as Central Imperial, West Chester, Culver City and Magnolia Car Wash, detaining over 26 undocumented individuals during work hours.

Out of the 26 individuals that were taken, 25 were workers and one was a customer, who was detained while with his sons. So far, four individuals have been located; two are currently being held at a detention center in Texas while the other two have been deported. In an effort to locate the remaining 22 missing individuals, family members are reaching out to the public for assistance and solidarity. 

Just a few days after the ICE raid in Culver City, Flor Melendrez, executive director of the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, Maria Juur from the Los Angeles Worker Center Network (LAWCN) and Elizabeth Brennan from the Warehouse Worker Resource Center (WWRC), hosted a press conference on Tuesday,June 11, raising awareness about the unjust arrests of hardworking individuals who have dedicated themselves to provide for their families.

CLEAN Carwash Center is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2007. The center has over 15 years of experience, working to expose the unfair treatment of workers in the car wash industry while also taking roles as workplace organizers that provide health, safety and labor protections.

Kimberly and Jaslyn H., daughters of one of the detainees, recall the day their father was kidnapped by ICE agents at his job.“Prior to that day, there was a suspicious black SUV surrounding his job along with three ICE cars driving around Venice and Sepulveda,” said Kimberly. 

Kimberly’s graduation day took a heartbreaking turn, making it one of the most difficult moments of her life. Yet, she and her sister showed courage and strength by advocating for her father and sharing with the world a little bit about the kind of person he truly is, not the false accusations many paint immigrants to be.

“My dad isn’t a criminal. He’s a hardworking man with such respect from everyone, from his coworkers, his clients, my teachers, my sister’s teachers and many more friends he’s made along the way,” said Kimberly. “Thanks to all [of] the sacrifices he [has] made, my sister [and I] were able to graduate [from] high school, go to college and live the life he wasn’t able to as a kid.”

Along with several other distraught family members who have not been able to locate those that have been detained, Noemi C., wife of one of the detainees, also shared her agony of not being able to get in contact with her husband after several days.

“It has been over three days. I haven't seen or heard from him. We had looked all day and I put him on the locator website and he’s nowhere to be found. My husband [is] a good man, an amazing father, a hard [worker]. He is not a criminal,” said Noemi. “Last clue we received was that he’s in Texas. So that’s why I’m here. I’m kindly asking anyone from El Paso, so please help me find my husband.”

California Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-55) spoke out against the injustice faced by undocumented immigrants, such as committing inhumane acts like separating families and inflicting fear within the community.

“There are 22 families who still don’t know where their loved ones are. There are two who have been deported. There are two who are in Texas,” said Bryan. “You cannot tell me what you’ve done to these families who [have] lost a part of their economic base isn’t violent… this is not leadership.”

Although the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements’ (ICE) website offers detailed guidance  on how to locate a detained family member, the process can be time-consuming and requires a great deal of patience.

According to the website, the Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS) does not contain all of the information of those who are in ICE or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. Detainees younger than 18 or held by CBP custody for less than 48 hours will not appear in the system.

After locating a family member, for safety measures, the system does not provide any information on whether or not the detainee will be transferred to a different detention facility. Once the individual has been transferred, the system will update their new location.

Lastly, the system does not provide information of a person being removed from the United States, it only provides information when they are in ICE custody. For further assistance, the family member or legal representative would have to contact the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officer, who is responsible for the removal of the detainee, which can be located in their ODLS record.

While many family members are experiencing moments of distress, community members, leaders and advocates continue to show their allegiance and support towards the undocumented community.

Anahi Cruz, an employee from the Garment Worker Center and close allies with the CLEAN  Carwash Workers Center, was aware of the ICE raids through social media.

“We found out about this and knew we had to come support, especially as an ally of theirs. Our workers are also being targeted and so we stand in solidarity with car wash workers as well,” said Cruz. 

The Mayor of Culver City, Dan O'Brien, Yliana Johansen-Mendez from the Immigrants Defence Center, Aquilina Soriano Versoza from Immigrants Are Los Angeles (IRLA) and Ambar Quintanilla, representative for CA State Senator Lola Smallwood Cuevas (D-28), have shown their compliance of doing everything they can in keeping Los Angeles a sanctuary city.

“We will continue to fight for our communities. We are here today and we will continue to be here tomorrow and the day after and after that, until we can find out where our families are,” said Melendrez. “For every family torn apart and for the dignity and humanity of our people, we will continue to stand strong. We are watching, we are organizing and we will not back down.”