West Hollywood car wash worker sent to Mexico after ICE raid, leaves behind 5 grandchildren: Family

Longtime car wash workers detained after ICE raid

Two longtime car wash employees were detained after an ICE raid at their workplace in West Hollywood.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - A Southern California grandmother had to scramble for help after her husband got detained by federal agents while he was at work in West Hollywood with the rent money in his hand.

What we know:

Silvestre Jiménez Gómez, 65, was one of the two people detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection during an ICE raid that was conducted at the Santa Palm Car Wash on Santa Monica Boulevard during the Fourth of July.

In addition to Jiménez Gómez, a second man, Juan Carlos Delgado-Abelino, was also detained in the raid.

Jiménez Gómez's son Edgar says his father had been a member of the community for more than 30 years. According to Edgar Jiménez, the family found out that Silvestre Jiménez Gómez had been deported to his home country of Mexico.

With the deportation, Silvestre Jiménez Gómez leaves behind Edgar and his four siblings, in addition to five grandchildren. Edgar Jiménez added with the deportation and the rent money never making it back to the family, his mother had to scramble to pay rent.

With the financial fallout from Silvestre Jiménez Gómez's deportation, a GoFundMe page has been launched for the family.

What they're saying:

Edgar Jiménez said the family was told Silvestre opted for going back to Mexico instead of remaining in U.S. federal custody.

"He didn't want to be handcuffed, shackled and treated like a criminal in a detention center," Silvestre's son Edgar said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued the following statement in the wake of the July 4 raid:

"On July 4th, Border Patrol conducted enforcement operations in West Hollywood, resulting in the arrest of two criminal illegal aliens: Juan Carlos Delgado-Abelino, an illegal alien from Mexico, has illegally entered the country twice. Silvestre [Jimenez-Gomez], an illegal alien from Mexico, was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance."