Rafie Shouhed was at Valley Car Wash in Van Nuys, the business he has owned for almost 40 years, when federal immigration officers barrelled onto the property. Seeing masked men with guns, Shouhed quickly got up from his office, but ran into an agent in the hallway. The agent pushed him down, surveillance video shows.
Related Articles
Family ‘devastated’ and asking questions over death of 39-year-old California man in ICE custody
Man who opened fire on ICE hated US government, sought to kill federal agents, officials say
Lopez: $100,000 H-1B visa is a gamble that could protect US jobs
Officials investigate death of Mexican man in ICE custody in Southern California
1 detainee killed and 2 others critically injured in Dallas ICE facility, Homeland Security says
Shouhed, who is 79 years old, went outside to see agents, who he says did not provide warrants, raiding his business. He asked them what he could do to help them, offering to get the papers many of his workers keep with them, when he was “slammed” into the ground by agents, who sat on his back, one with a knee on Shouhed’s neck, and pinned his arms behind his back, his lawyer said.
Shouhed told his story of what happened that day, Sept. 9, at a news conference on Thursday to announce a $50 million claim he filed against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and related federal agencies.
He said he was told, “You don’t (expletive) with ICE,” and was handcuffed and taken into a car. He has a heart condition and recently underwent surgery, receiving three stents, he said.
Agents drove him and five detained employees to downtown Los Angeles, where he was kept at the Metropolitan Detention Center for 12 hours, he said, with no medical attention despite his requests.
“I don’t know where they came from and the way they treated me, the way they attacked me, the way I was begging him. I have a heart condition. Three big people were sitting on my back, the way they tore me down, sitting on me, and I asked him to let me go, which they absolutely would not pay no attention, and they took me to detention center,” Shouhed said.
He is a United States citizen who immigrated from Tehran decades ago. Though detention personnel determined he was a citizen, he was kept in detention and not allowed to call his family, he said. He was eventually released with no charges. His family took him to the hospital.
“I didn’t even know where he was for hours and with his heart condition and stents, they could have very easily caused his death,” Debra Shouhed, his wife, said.
Rafie Shouhed intends to file a lawsuit against a host of federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Shouhed’s lawyer, V. James DeSimone, said at the news conference.
“When you see that on the video it shows you, this is the way ICE is operating our community. They use physical force and do not speak to the people in order to ascertain who was there legally in order to do their job. Instead, they immediately resort to force,” DeSimone said.
Shouhed’s $50 million claim is a precursor to filing a lawsuit. He and his lawyers must wait six months until they can file a suit, unless the claim is rejected before then.
His ordeal included a traumatic brain injury, according to his lawyers, resulting in headaches, confusion, forgetfulness and not being able to sleep at night. He also suffered an injured elbow and ribs, they said, and continues to deal with pain.
“They escalated and caused injury, and Rafie was in custody in handcuffs for close to 12 hours without any medical care, with ribs that are bruised and we believe are fractured because of the way he’s having trouble breathing, and with an elbow that looks dislocated, it’s just grotesque, and you can still see the effect of it now that he that it’s it’s still swollen,” DeSimone said.
The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration said Shouhed was arrested for assaulting and impeding a federal officer. The agency said that five people in the country illegally were arrested during the raid at Valley Car Wash.
“DHS and its components continue to enforce the law every day in greater Los Angeles even in the face of danger. On September 9, U.S. Border Patrol conducted a targeted immigration enforcement operation in Van Nuys, California, that resulted in the arrest of 5 illegal aliens from Guatemala and Mexico who broke our nation’s immigration laws, including one who was removed from the country twice in 2015,” the agency said in a statement.
“The owner of Valley Car Wash, U.S. citizen, impeded the operation and was arrested for assaulting and impeding a federal officer,” read the statement, attributed to Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
His lawyers disagreed.
“Mr. Shouhed attempted to communicate to the agents to provide proof of work eligibility for his employees, but he never engaged in any violence, did not touch the agents, nor did he argue with the agents. Mr. Shouhed was just trying to understand the situation and help by showing the agents that his employees had papers,” the claim states.
Shouhed and his lawyers maintain that he had no physical contact with the agents prior to his arrest, and that he only asked if he could help them, and provide documentation for his workers.
“DHS, I understand, has put out a statement that said that he engaged in assaulting an officer,” DeSimone said. “You could see on those videos, that is a complete fabrication, and that is part and parcel of their accusations, where they’re accusing people when they arrest them of engaging in assault and conduct. We’ve had many grand juries rejecting cases where they say, no, there’s no assault here whatsoever.”
Shouhed is attempting to continue business at Valley Car Wash, but said that his staff, including citizens, are fearful after the raid. He he had to close the business for a while, he said.
Shouhed’s wife became emotional as she recounted the aftermath of her husband’s injuries.
“This policy is totally against what this country stands for. We’re all one people. We were all immigrants at one time, and we need to be kind to each other and respectful of each other, not just come on like gangbusters and tear the country apart,” she said. “This is wrong.”
Shouhed hopes that the claim or lawsuit will bring a “little bit of justice, not for me, for everybody, for all this – innocent workers.”