City, county officials denounce immigration raids at Long Beach car washes
Due to a court order that prohibits raids based on profiling, officials argue the raids were illegal and are seeking legal recourse.
Days after at least nine people were detained in two separate raids across Long Beach, city officials said that they are pushing back and seeking legal recourse against what they describe as illegal actions by federal agents.
Masked agents in unmarked vehicles stormed two Long Beach car washes — Andres Car Wash in Cal Heights and Coast Hand Car Wash near Cal State Long Beach — on Sunday morning. Agents detained at least nine people, according to local immigrant advocacy group ÓRALE.
On Tuesday, the day after his birthday, Mayor Rex Richardson took to social media to rebuke the raids after sitting down with the owner of Andres, who has operated the car wash for more than 30 years.
“What I heard was disturbing,” Richardson said. “These workers are not criminals, they are community members, parents, and neighbors who came to work to support their families.”
County Supervisor Janice Hahn on Tuesday reposted a Watchdog video on Instagram, saying it is “proof that our federal government isn’t targeting violent criminals. They’re going after everyday, hardworking men and women.”
But Richardson took it a step farther, saying that the Trump administration’s actions don't match its stated mission of deporting people with criminal records. He said the raids were, in fact, illegal.
In July, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Public Counsel and other immigration and civil rights attorneys filed Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem. The lawsuit alleges the federal government, through the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, has engaged in unconstitutional and unlawful stops, roundups and raids.
On July 11, a U.S. District Court judge in California granted a temporary restraining order, blocking federal agents from conducting immigration raids based on profiling. The Trump administration took the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which maintained the order on Aug. 1, prohibiting the federal government from detaining people based on race, language or type of employment.
“You can’t go from car wash to car wash profiling people based on race,” Richardson said.
In the same post, Richardson said the two raids on Long Beach car washes were a “clear violation” of the restraining order, which “undermines the rule of law” and “inflicts real harm on working families and small business owners who are the backbone of our community.”
On Monday, the owner of Andres told the Watchdog that federal agents did not show any warrants or other documentation. Rather, they arrived, masked, in unmarked vehicles and chased down workers, he said.
Richardson said that City Attorney Dawn McIntosh is working with a coalition of officials from across the region to determine a legal course of action, including potential civil or criminal contempt, to hold the federal government accountable and reverse the actions taken that were in violation of the restraining order.
“While it might seem obvious that raids were conducted without warrants or reasonable suspicion, we need to provide the court with evidence, not just our assumptions,” McIntosh said in an email Tuesday, adding that the coalition of cities is working “to gather the necessary documentation and evidence to establish violations of the injunction.”
As of Aug. 8, the coalition consisted of Anaheim, Bell Gardens, Beverly Hills, Carpinteria, Culver City, Huntington Park, Lynwood, Montebello, Monterey Park, Oxnard, Paramount, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, South Gate and West Hollywood, according to a press release from the city of Santa Ana. The coalition are interveners in the Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem lawsuit.
“We, along with our partner cities in this effort, are committed to the rule of law and holding federal agents accountable to compliance with our nation's laws,” McIntosh said.
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not respond to questions asked by the Watchdog.
Car wash worker advocacy group CLEAN Carwash Worker Center estimates that at least 100 car wash workers across LA and Orange counties have been detained by federal agents since June 6, according to social media posts.
“[The raids] caused a lot of fear, caused a lot of chaos, and I can tell you it’s not OK. We don't stand for this in our community,” Richardson said. “Long Beach remains committed to protecting all residents, regardless of background or immigration status, so they can go to work, school, church, or the doctor's office without fear.”
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