Anatomy of a raid: How immigration agents descended on an L.A. car wash

LOS ANGELES — Federal immigration officers conducting workplace sweeps in Los Angeles over the past week have repeatedly targeted a quintessential business in highway-heavy Southern California: the car wash.

Officers in masks and bulletproof vests have been spotted pulling up to businesses in pickup trucks, detaining workers wiping windshields and then shuttling them away — all in a matter of minutes.

At least six car washes have been targeted in California’s largest city, where protests over the raids and President Donald Trump’s decision to call in National Guard troops and the Marines are expected to continue.

Over two consecutive days, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents descended on Westchester Hand Wash near Los Angeles International Airport. The Washington Post obtained video showing how each raid transpired. Surveillance footage from Sunday shows immigration agents using their vehicles to block an exit and then walking toward the workers. Several took off running when they realized what was happening. The agents returned again the next day.

This is how the second sweep unfolded.

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