A car wash in Allston has responded after a Boston University student publicly took 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 posted 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 employees of the car wash were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Zac Segel, president of the 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 Segel, who lists London, England, as 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!”
However, Allston Car Wash said that Segel never contacted the business directly.
“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.
According to manager Jose Barrera, nearly two dozen federal agents arrived at the car wash on November 4 with subpoenas. Masked agents asked 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 valid work permits, according to reports by BostonPaper and The Daily Free Press.
Allston Car Wash expressed gratitude to elected officials and the community for their 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 stated.
“For nearly 50 years, we have been committed to running an honest family business, and we will continue to stand with our employees and with this community.”
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2025/11/16/reckless-and-distressing-allston-car-wash-responds-to-bu-student-taking-credit-for-ice-raid/