During the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Torrance on Sunday, employers were caught up in a heated debate with one of the federal officers who were raiding a car wash and taking some of the workers.
The loud exchange was captured on multiple videos. The first video showed the beginning of an encounter that began within a bubble bath handcar wash. At least four agents are seen surrounding one worker in the car wash, apparently shooting with a video camera.
From outside the frame, the man who later says he is the owner asks, “What are you guys doing?” He repeats the question, but no one answers. He then says, “This is a place of business, I need to leave.” At the same time, the woman filming the video tells the agent that she needs to identify herself. They don’t reply at first, and instead some start to leave the area.
The owner again said, “Hey! Are you running? Are you a criminal? Are you all, criminals?
Meanwhile, one of the agents tells the woman filming him that he has identified himself to the worker he is talking to. “I’m talking to him, I’m not talking to you,” says the masked agent.
The second video shows the ice agent panning bread into an open area at the end of the car wash before talking to or restraining multiple workers. There, a group of federal officials leave the building and the owners follow. A scream is heard as the group appears, and a masked officer turns around and pushes the owner backwards.
The owner and agent who shoved him engage in a fierce oral match. However, it is revealed that the owner is screaming at the officers after raiding his business. He gestures anger at the workers he was taken, apparently claiming that the officers were acting for no reason.
“What is it? Who is it?” the owner can hear them say. “You guys literally look like F.
The masked officer, who began talking at the same time as the owner, is pointing to his best, and appears to be answering, “Who do you think we are?”
The owner then tells the agent that he is “behaving like a criminal.” Running around his car wash, the officer replies, “Oh, are we acting like criminals? Do you own this place?”
When the owner responds “Yes,” the agent says, “There are illegal aliens working in your surgery.” The rest of the conversation is less clear, but the officer tells the owner to “leave” before he and the other masked agents leave in an unmarked car.
KTLA contacted Torrance Police Station, ICE and Bubble Car Wash but did not respond immediately.
