DOWNEY, July 4 (TNF): Jose, a 25-year-old car wash owner near Los Angeles, now monitors video feeds from 11 cameras around the clock. Last month, immigration officers raided his business in Downey. The raid left him outraged and fearful that his car wash, which employs undocumented Latin American migrants, will be targeted again. He asked not to share his full name for safety reasons.
“It felt like racial profiling,” he said, showing footage of the incident. The videos show federal agents chasing and arresting two workers with dark skin. A lighter-skinned colleague left the scene without being stopped.
Jose said both arrested men have no criminal records. One had worked at the car wash for nearly 20 years. “All 10 workers that day were undocumented. They could have arrested anyone,” he said. He believes the two men were singled out because of their darker skin.
Los Angeles had seen large protests against immigration raids last month. Calm has since returned, but the raids continue. In Montebello, another raid at an auto body shop sparked anger. A video showed officers pushing an employee against a gate. The man shouted, “I’m American, bro!” and was released.
Downey councilman Mario Trujillo said the tactics amount to racial profiling. “They are driving around looking for people who look Mexican,” he said. Trujillo recorded about 15 raids in June.
The Trump administration denied the charge. Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security spokeswoman, said the claims were “disgusting and categorically FALSE.” She said agents target suspects based on prior information and aim to arrest “the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”
But figures from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tell a different story. ICE arrested 722 migrants in Los Angeles and nearby areas between June 1 and 10. Data from the Deportation Data Project and Los Angeles Times shows 69% of those arrested had no criminal convictions. About 58% had never been charged with a crime.
“This administration lied to us,” Trujillo said. “They’re not going after criminals. They’re going after people who look undocumented.”
Six Republican state senators from California wrote to Trump last week. They expressed concern that raids meant to target violent criminals were sweeping up non-criminal migrants. The letter said ICE actions are spreading fear even among workers with legal status.
English