CULVER CITY, Calif. — The families of 22 car wash workers detained in recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across Southern California are demanding their immediate release, as community leaders and advocacy groups decry what they call cruel and politically motivated immigration enforcement.
According to the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, a labor rights group that supports vulnerable car wash employees, ICE began targeting six car wash locations across Los Angeles and Orange counties last Friday. The group said it received “frantic phone calls from workers reporting ICE raids” over the weekend.
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- 1 Families in Distress
- 2 Lawmakers Condemn Raids
- 3 White House Response
- 4 Fear and Fallout in Culver City
- 5 Sanctuary Policies in the Spotlight
“ICE is cruelly targeting our city’s industries where workers are most vulnerable,” said Flor Melendrez, executive director of the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, in a statement released Wednesday.
Families in Distress
At a press conference held at the Culver City Express Hand Car Wash and Detail, where some of the arrests occurred, families shared emotional pleas for justice and answers. Jaslyn and Kimberly Henandez, speaking on behalf of their mother, described their anguish over their father’s detention.
“We are extremely sad to not know where he is. We have not been able to find him,” one of the sisters said through tears. “We would like justice for him, and we would like to live without the fear of being detained.”
ICE has not yet responded to requests for comment about the detentions.
Lawmakers Condemn Raids
California State Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, who represents parts of Los Angeles County, joined the families at the press event and criticized the federal government’s actions.
“There are 22 families who still don’t know where their loved ones are,” Bryan said. “Many of them had no criminal history.”
Bryan also blasted former President Donald Trump, referring to his recent criminal convictions in the New York hush money trial.
“I’m tired of being told about the rule of law by a man with 34 felony counts in the White House,” Bryan said.
He also accused Stephen Miller, Trump’s former senior advisor and current deputy chief of staff for policy, of setting a deportation quota of 3,000 daily immigration arrests, implying that the raids were carried out to fulfill that target.
White House Response
Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, defended the enforcement actions during a Wednesday briefing, stating that 330 undocumented immigrants had been arrested in Los Angeles since Friday. She said 113 of them had prior criminal convictions.
Still, local leaders argue that many of those detained had no criminal background and were contributing members of the workforce.
“Everybody has a right to due process,” Bryan emphasized. “Everybody has a right to live, to work, and to take care of themselves and their families. I will stand with you to affirm that right.”
Fear and Fallout in Culver City
The raids have led to economic fallout in the local community. Culver City Mayor Dan O’Brien noted that at least one car wash had shut down because workers were too afraid to return.
“These actions have caused real fear,” said O’Brien. “It’s shutting down small businesses and traumatizing families.”
Sanctuary Policies in the Spotlight
Los Angeles, along with the state of California, is designated a sanctuary jurisdiction, meaning local law enforcement agencies generally limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The recent raids have sparked daily protests across the city, as demonstrators push back against what they view as aggressive and inhumane immigration policies. The events have reignited debate over the balance between public safety, labor rights, and federal immigration enforcement.
