Car mechanic arrested in South Los Angeles ICE raid will not be deported

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A car mechanic arrested during a raid by ICE agents in a South Los Angeles repair shop will not be deported, authorities said.

The video of ICE agents toting semi-automatic weapons went viral.

The Sept. 25 raid, which was caught on security video, showed Juan Hernandez handcuffed, detained and arrested without a warrant and absent reasonable suspicion or probable cause.

The ACLU foundation filed a motion to terminate the proceedings following the unlawful arrest.

"Before asking anybody any questions, they rounded up, arrested, handcuffed - basically detained - everybody in the shop who worked there without knowing anything about them other than the color of their skin," ACLU attorney Evan Bitran said.

The staff attorney heard about the raid and represented Hernandez. She said agents cannot "arrest you first and ask questions later."

A judge in a Los Angeles immigration court agreed, and the proceedings against him were ended.

Eyewitness News reached out to ICE for comment, but the agency declined to comment on the case.

Bitran said Hernandez was a "collateral arrest" as referred to by ICE - he wasn't the target of a raid, but someone who happened to be in the area. She said it's a widespread tactic of the Trump administration.

"They may be going for one person that they have reason is subject to removal, but they'll sort of pick-up anybody and everybody in that person's way," Bitran said.

Hernandez is free and back at work to support his wife and small daughter, but he no longer works at that auto shop.