Over 200 Undocumented Immigrants Detained, Arrested During Arizona Raids at Car Wash Businesses

In the state of Arizona, a series of raids have left more than 200 undocumented immigrants arrested.

According to Univisión, out of the 16 car washers located downtown, 14 detainees have been charged with federal felonies.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) conducted an operation and detained a group of 223 immigrants, most of who are from México. In an interview with Univision, a detainee, who was later released, described the abuse by authorities, detailing the development of the raid.

"We were treated like criminals, they told us to lift our hands, that nobody move and they took us by surprise, there were women working and all of them started to cry," the detainee said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities explained that the raids were against employers who hire services from undocumented people, but not against immigrant workers. After a while, they released people who didn't have a criminal record. Spokeswoman Bárbara González said, "This wasn´t an operation focused against the undocumented community, but on the employer."

About 40 immigrants remained under arrested after discovery that they had been deported in recent days after trying to cross into the United States. One of the women who's still detained said her plan was to marry her partner in November in order to obtain her legal status. About 14 detainees, 10 of whom are Mexican, have been charged "with alleged identity theft, immigration fraud and financial violations."

Most of the immigrants accused their bosses of knowing the illegal situation they were in from the beginning of their employment, and said they asked their employers to get legal documentation. One employee from Danny's Family Car Wash also explained that he was fired, but his employers asked him to get a social security number so he could return to work. Many immigrants complained about the treatment they received from their employers who took advantage of their illegal status.

Activists and family members of the 223 detainees requested their release, explaining that they aren't criminals and were only working. The activists expressed indignation, saying, "this is one of the biggest raids ICE has executed in Arizona and across the U.S." Currently, 30 detained immigrants face deportation while 179 have been released.