Lawyer group files Massachusetts complaint accusing ICE of racial profiling, after raid resulted in workers detained

After an incident involving ICE and an Allston car wash in November, Lawyers for Civil Rights and counsel from Zimmer, Citron & Clarke have filed a complaint under the Federal Tort Claims Act on behalf of seven workers. The group states that they are “seeking accountability for unlawful arrests, false imprisonment, and other constitutional violations.” Filed with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE, the complaint details how the group says, “federal officers violated the workers’ rights through unlawful arrests and racial profiling.”

The complaint alleges the following: “on November 4, 2025, ICE officers swarmed the Allston Car Wash and immediately grabbed and arrested workers within reach. They acted without warrants, without probable cause, and without making any meaningful effort to determine the workers’ identities or immigration status before detaining them. ICE officers rounded up workers based on where they worked, the language they spoke, and their race—all tell-tale signs of discrimination and racial profiling. Every worker detained in the raid was Latinx and Spanish-speaking. Some of the workers seized by ICE during the raid were lawfully present in the United States with work authorization from the federal government. Even after officers photographed these workers and located them in federal databases confirming they were lawfully present, ICE failed to release them. The lawful workers were shackled, transported, and confined.”

“The trauma of that day continues to affect every aspect of my life,” said 20-year-old José Pablo Henriquez Sagastume, one of the aggrieved car wash workers filing the complaint. “We were just doing our jobs when armed officers surrounded us and treated us like criminals. No one cared who we were. No one asked anything before grabbing me.”

The complaint also alleges that “ICE agents chained the car wash workers by their waists, hands, and feet and transported them to the ICE Field Office in Burlington, Massachusetts, and later to other detention facilities. The workers endured inhumane, prison-like conditions—sleeping on the floor, barely eating, and shivering in near-freezing temperatures. All seven workers were ultimately released on bond after being wrongfully imprisoned by ICE for 14 to 30 days. The impact of the ICE raid has been profound. The unlawful arrests inflicted severe physical, psychological, and emotional harm. The car wash workers suffered from debilitating headaches, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, uncontrollable crying, shortness of breath, disorientation, and memory loss.”

“It was awful,” said Felicita Del Carmen Escobar de Vasquez, another impacted car wash worker bringing the complaint. “At the car wash, I couldn’t stop crying. The handcuffs were too tight, and they left bruises on my wrists for eight days.” Other workers detained in the raid experienced similar violence from ICE.

“All of us were working to support our families,” said Clarisa Marisela Aguilón Mauricio, one of the complainants. “My husband was inside the car wash, and I was grabbed and handcuffed right in front of him. I was taken away in chains and slept on the floor for days.”

LCR states that ICE violated the workers’ Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights, ignored governing federal statutes and regulations, and perpetrated other illegalities, including false arrest, assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“This was not targeted enforcement. It was a racialized sweep,” said Brooke Simone, Staff Attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights. “Federal agents stormed a workplace, surrounded employees, and arrested them without warrants, without probable cause, and without asking a single question. Our clients were targeted simply because of the color of their skin, the language they speak, and the place they work.”

“ICE raided a humble workplace, rounded up Latinos, and detained people they knew were lawfully present in the United States,” said Mirian Albert, Senior Staff Attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights. “We are filing this complaint to uphold the Constitution. ICE must be held accountable.”

“Because these workers do manual labor, they were treated as undesirable and disposable. Across the country, as landscaping crews, construction workers, and car wash workers are being swept into ICE vans and locked up, the federal government is illegally targeting hardworking Latinos, including those with work authorization. Targeting workers instead of criminal activity carries real economic consequences,” said Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, Executive Director of Lawyers for Civil Rights.

“This case presents a particularly stark example of ICE’s unconstitutional use of racial profiling,” said David Zimmer, Partner at Zimmer, Citron & Clarke. “It is especially chilling that ICE arrested and detained several car wash workers even after learning that ICE had no valid basis for detaining them because they were authorized to remain and work in this country. We are honored to work alongside Lawyers for Civil Rights to vindicate these workers’ rights.”

The FTCA complaint is a required precursor to a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

ICE has not yet made a public comment concerning the allegations.

Read the full complaint here.