Photo by Shireen Qudosi
In a morning operation that left the community shaken, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted a raid at a local car wash on the corner of Union Avenue and Harbor Boulevard on Sunday, August 24, around 10 AM. Witnesses reported that two individuals were taken into custody during the incident.
A bystander, who shared their account on the Fullerton Buzz Facebook page, described the scene as chaotic, stating, “Eight or nine officers swooped in and arrested several people, including an elderly man whose only wrong move today was showing up for work. People are crying… everyone’s upset about what felt so vile and invasive.” The emotional response from those present underscores the climate of fear and uncertainty fostered by such operations.
In the wake of the raid, the Orange County Rapid Response Network (OCRRN) has urged community members to report any ICE activities they witness by calling (714) 881-1558. The organization encourages onlookers to document incidents safely on video and to request the full names of anyone apprehended for reporting purposes. The OCRRN collaborates with the ACLU to provide legal support and resources for individuals affected by these actions. More information can be found at https://ocrapidresponse.org.
As tensions rise in the community, local residents are being urged to remain vigilant and look out for one another amid fears that further raids could target local businesses. The question looms: will ICE’s actions lead to the closure of this car wash and other establishments in the area?
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Resources
Orange County Rapid Response Network (OCRRN) (714) 881-1558. The OCRRN collaborates with the ACLU to provide legal support and resources for affected individuals. More information can be found at https://ocrapidresponse.org.
• Thank you to reader Phil M who provided the following links to benefits and other help available to immigrants both documented and undocumented in California:
Medi-Cal Immigrant Eligibility FAQ: https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/keep-your-Medi-Cal/Pages/Medi-Cal-Immigrant-Eligibility-FAQs.aspx
CA Public Benefits for Non-citizens PDF: https://www.ilrc.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/CA%20Public%20Benefits%20for%20Noncitizens%20.pdf
PEW Research Center: https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/08/21/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reached-a-record-14-million-in-2023/
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Categories: Community Voices, Downtown, Local Business, Local Events, Local Government, Local News
This is disgusting and the second time this carwash has been attacked. These are working people – adding to the economy – and community – not criminals.
Working but illegal we’re was your outrage when OBiden let over 20millon illegals cross the boarder? crickets crickets!
Why would I be outraged? Obama and Biden deported plenty of people. They let some in to lawfully pursue an asylum claim in which case they’re not illegal at all. So I’d say Obama and Biden didn’t let 20 million people be here without documentation. If they let them it is to pursue a claim.
The difference with Trump is his willingness to abuse his authority and discretion to ignore the letter and spirit of the law and deport people that have a reasonable claim. Trump is cancelling status for any excuse or no reason at all including people who don’t like him or have an opinion about Israel or whatever excuse Culture Minister Miller comes up with.
As many raids as it takes to get rid of the illegals. Serge S
Not discusting. How many other of his illegal family members are on the government dime. Welfare, food stamps, SSI, Clogging up our schools and emergency rooms at hospitals. All of these free handouts need to stop!!!!!
And you know this how, profiling or racism?
Thomas – you are being fooled and lied to – The safety programs you mention are not available to undocumented people – there are no free handouts. Please – check out “Good Sources of News” on this website and stop swallowing the kool-aid
Not entirely true, Sharon.
The State of California, and many NGOs can be quite charitable to undocumented immigrants, visa holders, and asylees. Most of this was made possible during the gubernatorial administration of Edmund “Jerry” Brown Jr.
ED Comment: THANK YOU PHIL. The Links you provided for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center have been added to the body of the article because the paper’s system does not allow links in comments.
Phil – Thanks – I didn’t know that. I read the info from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and see there are some limited benefits mostly for documented immigrants – but a few – health related for undocumented immigrants too. I am happy about that.
I also read the most recent Pew Research Center study that notes the US “Unauthorized Immigrant Population” is 8 million people. In a country with 340 million people – I think the fear of “invasion” and the blame that is put on new immigrants and undocumented immigrants for everything that is wrong is manufactured to keep us scared of each other. We really all want the same things and could have it all if we quit falling for the propaganda that immigrants are the enemy.
Immigrants are not necessarily the enemy. I would absolutely adore if more legal immigrants/legal permanent residents get their due justice, jobs, and place to comfortably live in the United States to be one with the American populace.
Unfortunately, there are those who are not innocent and intend to abuse and subvert society. There are people who work for foreign organizations or states who intend to bring harm to the populace or nation. One good example would be Linda Sun who worked for NY State Governor Kathy Hochul, who was found to be a Chinese spy. It is the federal government’s responsibility to properly vet people who have the intent to work and live in the United States. Yes, the DHS and its agencies should practice restraint and double-check the people they apprehend before deporting. People who are still within their visa or asylum period should not be deported.
Phil – Yeah – that is a good example and I can think of a few others – and of course every ancestry has full range of personalities including crooks. Have you read the recent CATO Institute report (or any of numerous others) that show that US born citizens are way more likely to commit crime than new immigrants? You have probably also read the numerous studies on how immigrants actually benefit rather than drain the US economy. We do need better paths to citizenship and better immigration policies – that are not based on false fears and cruelty.
Why do you assume these people are burdening the system? These people are working. They are not costs. They are humans and they are producing for themselves and their families. You don’t know who in there household is a citizen and who isn’t. You just assume.
I’ll tell you your intuition is right about one thing: someone is stealing your cookies. But it’s not the guy working at the carwash. Consider the guy that has your cookies is the one spending a lot of money on conservative media and asking for your vote while brainwashing you to scapegoat immigrants.
The whole immigration mess was ignored by both parties for far too long, and for reasons I can only relate in the way of an incident over two decades ago:
I was a member of an astronomical amateur group that had an observing site a quarter mile from the border in East San Diego County. One day the entire community down there got a flyer in the mail from the border patrol stating that they were going to install Klieg lights at the border. This would have killed 30 years of work and thousands of dollars to establish and keep our observing site running.
We and the community asked for and got a town hall meeting with the chief of the southwestern border patrol and a few of his assistants. The meeting went well, they finally understood what they would be killing by doing this, and we explored different ways of dealing with the problem, cheaper sources of night vision, motion detectors, etc.
As I was leaving the meeting, I asked the Chief’s secretary why Congress would not allocate them enough money to buy some decent equipment so they wouldn’t have to go the cheap bright light way. Her response:
“The Democrats want the Hispanic vote, and the Republicans want the cheap labor. So we get table scraps.”
This all happened over two decades ago. Think it over: Both sides of the aisle have mud on their face on this one. And one side of the aisle is now using it to help turn the US into a police state.
George Washington hated the idea of political parties. I’m beginning to see why.
ED Response: Interesting but One thought on the Democrat/Republican thing – non citizens can’t vote.
Clarification for you, ED:
The Hispanic American Citizen/Here Legally sympathy vote. It’s a significant demographic.
ED: To further clarify, there are four camps on this in the Hispanic community:
1. The people who are here legally, and want to become citizens
2. The legally here Hispanic community, who have deep sympathies for the ones who are not, and vote accordingly Democratic (which was the example I used in my comment)
3. The Hispanic community that has very little sympathy for the ones who are here illegally, and are on Trump’s page
4. The ones who are here illegally and have no intention of becoming citizens, either out of fear of exposing themselves in the current environment (I can hardly blame them!), or a personal discrimination, whatever the motive.
As to percentages of each, I’ll leave that up to the academics running polls.
I have been in California since 1956, and I know “a stable from a steeple”.
Right now this mess looks like a Augean stable, and it’s gonna take a LOT of water to clean up the mess His Orangeness has made! Unfortunately, I don’t see any Hercules on the political horizon who has a snowball’s chance in Hades of getting his or her hands on the reins of power.
Thank you!
“The community shaken”? What community? The illegal community?