Anaheim sees sudden surge in federal immigration raids with Home Depot, car wash targeted again

Michael Slaten, The Orange County Register on Aug 18, 2025

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Anaheim over the weekend saw several federal immigration raids in what officials said was the first significant action the city has seen in weeks.

City officials in a news release Monday, Aug. 18, said those concerned about federal immigration enforcement “need to be aware and alert” after agents over the weekend detained five laborers at a Home Depot and targeted a car wash for the third time since July.

“Saturday saw the most significant and disruptive federal enforcement in our city in weeks,” city officials said.

Around midday Saturday, a few black SUVs and a white van pulled up to the Euclid Car Wash, blocking access. A crowd then gathered, and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents and others who could not be identified deployed “what appeared to be a crowd control smoke canister before detaining one person” who was a bystander, according to the city.

That man, Isaac Dominguez, 33, told KCAL News that he was detained after pretending to throw a bottle at agents who were at the car wash. He was then chased by agents who shot crowd-control gas and detained him.

Dominguez, in a cell phone video, is seen being held to the ground by officers, yelling he couldn’t breathe, with visible gas surrounding him.

Dominguez is a citizen and said he never attacked the agents, but felt motivated to “stand up for the little guy.” He was taken to a holding point in Santa Ana and released after six hours, according to KCAL News.

This was the third time the car wash had been targeted by federal immigration enforcement since July, according to the city.

A Home Depot on North Brookhurst Street that has also been regularly targeted saw five laborers detained on Saturday morning by several agents who appeared to be from Border Patrol, according to the city.

City officials on Sunday said immigration enforcement agents were in the area of Orangethorpe Avenue and Kellogg Drive “conducting targeted enforcement involving a specific person.” There was no indication of larger activity on Sunday, city officials said.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court upheld a temporary restraining order that said roving immigration patrols were illegal if conducted without reasonable suspicion. That restraining order has been in place since July 11 and coincided with what is now a temporary drop in federal immigration enforcement activity.

The city in July also committed $250,000 to help families affected by the surge in immigration enforcement and related fears through Anaheim Contigo, anaheim.net/contigo, which is also where the city is posting updates and resource information.

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