U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided a car wash in Philadelphia’s Juniata Park neighborhood, members of a local immigrant rights group told NBC10.
NBC10 obtained a 53-second video that appears to show ICE agents conducting an operation around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, at Complete Autowash Philly on the 900 block of East Hunting Park Avenue. Members of Juntos – a South Philly-based immigrant organization – told NBC10 that a total of seven people were detained during the raid.
The owner of a nearby business told NBC10 the men who were detained had been working at a barbershop near the car wash for more than a decade.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
NBC10 reached out to ICE for confirmation on the raid. A spokesperson said they could not confirm the details of the operation. NBC10 also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A spokesperson said they could not comment due to the ongoing investigation.
Since President Donald Trump took office earlier this month, his administration touted deportation efforts and published new rules making it easier to remove people — part of a flurry of actions to make good on campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration.
The administration portrayed U.S. military planes carrying migrants that touched down in Central America as a start to deportations. Trump also sent U.S. soldiers and Marines to the U.S.-Mexico border and lifted longtime rules restricting immigration enforcement near schools and churches.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
ICE shared on the social media platform X that they made 956 arrests on Sunday, Jan. 26, alone.
#Immigration #ICEERO pic.twitter.com/ee4zKKD6aT
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) January 27, 2025
Many of ICE's recent actions have not been unusual. Similar deportation flights also took place under the Biden administration, though military planes were not used in those cases. ICE averaged 311 daily arrests in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. President Joe Biden also sent active-duty troops to the border in 2023, and numerous administrations have sent National Guard troops to assist Customs and Border Protection.
However, rumors of arrests and news reports or social media posts about the presence of agents sparked worries in communities around the country. Some rights groups launched plans to protect immigrants in the event of arrests at schools or workplaces, including in Philadelphia.
Workers at Jumbo Meat Market, a Brazilian grocery store in Philadelphia, told NBC10 ICE agents arrived at their business around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday in search of two criminals. Workers at the market said they did not recognize the two individuals. The store employees said the ICE agents then asked them to show their documents.
Immigration lawyer Christpoher Bagnato told NBC10 fear is running rampant in immigrant communities across Philadelphia.
“My staff has been telling me that ICE has been visiting bodegas, supermarkets,” Bagnato said. “In Northeast Philadelphia especially.”
Bagnato said his case load has tripled since President Trump reentered the White House – mostly from clients trying to get their papers in order.
NBC10 reached out to ICE to confirm attempted arrests around Philadelphia but we have not heard back from them.
Bagnato told NBC10 that people confronted by ICE agents have a right to remain silent if their name isn’t on the warrant.
“They have a right to not say anything,” Bagnato said. “You can literally walk away.”