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“Publicly labeling our workforce as ‘criminals’ without any knowledge of who they are is reckless and distressing,” the car wash said.
A car wash in Allston responded to a Boston University student publicly taking credit for reporting their employees to federal immigration officials, calling his actions “reckless and distressing.”
“Allston Car Wash has been a family-owned business in this neighborhood for almost five decades,” the business said in a statement on Facebook. “Our employees are good, hardworking individuals who come to work each day to provide for themselves and their families.”
Earlier this month, nine car wash employees were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Zac Segel, the president of BU College Republicans, took credit days later in a post on X.
“This week they finally responded to my request to detain these criminals,” wrote Segal, who calls London, England, his hometown. “As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I’ve seen how American jobs are being given away to those with no right to be here. Pump up the numbers!”
Segal never contacted the business, Allston Car Wash said.
“At no point did this individual contact us, speak with management, or inquire about our employees or operations. Publicly labeling our workforce as ‘criminals’ without any knowledge of who they are is reckless and distressing,” the statement read.
Nearly two dozen federal agents responded to the car wash Nov. 4 with subpoenas, according to manager Jose Barrera, and masked agents asked the workers to show their documents but detained them before giving them a chance to retrieve their work permits from their lockers. The workers all had work permits, Boston.com previously reported.
Segal’s post, which has amassed nearly a million views on X, was shared in response to a Boston.com article about the ICE raid. Last week, Segal referred a request for comment to College Republicans of America President Martin Bertao.
“Zac Segal is a hero, and we are proud to call him one of our own. We call on all College Republicans to follow in the lead of this great patriot and notify their local ICE forces of any known illegal activity in their communities immediately,” Bertao said in a statement at the time.
On campus, however, the women of BU College Republicans disavowed his statement and called for his removal from the organization’s board, according to BU’s student newspaper, The Daily Free Press.
Allston Car Wash thanked elected officials and the community for support.
“The employees detained last week are part of our team and part of this community. We are doing everything possible to support them and their families throughout this process,” the Facebook post said. “For nearly 50 years, we have been committed to running and honest family business, and we will continue to stand with our employees and with this community.”
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