Federal immigration agents have swept up hundreds of people in raids up and down California in recent weeks.
Now, the case of one Los Angeles man -- a car mechanic arrested under suspicious circumstances last September -- is challenging how workplace raids are conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Sept. 25 raid was caught on a security cam video that went viral. ICE agents walked onto the auto repair lot with semi-automatic weapons drawn and started handcuffing workers.
One of them was mechanic Juan Hernandez, who spent weeks in detention. The ACLU of Southern California said Hernandez was arrested solely because of his appearance. The agents had no warrant, no probable cause and didn’t even identify themselves or ask questions, according to the civil rights group, which filed a motion with a private attorney.