3 women detained at Irvine business days before anti-ICE protest on Friday

Masked federal immigration officers reportedly detained three women at an Irvine business this week, as the agency beefs up its presence in that city, where a protest is planned for Friday morning.

A vehicle with three employees of The Dots Corp, a printing and marketing business, pulled into the parking lot at 9700 Toledo Way around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, when four tinted SUVs surrounded the car, according to the business’ CEO Jeff Shattuck.

One officer showed the women a purported warrant through the vehicle’s window, Shattuck said. Then one of the women opened the car door, and the three were detained.

The officers didn’t provide Shattuck with any information when asked, he said, other than they possessed some sort of arrest warrant. It is not clear whether the officers had a signed judicial warrant or an administrative warrant, which does not allow agents to enter private places like houses or vehicles unless given permission to enter.

Shattuck called 911 with the hope of preventing any escalation, and so that police could verify that the masked men and women in tactical gear were actual U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration officers. He said they were wearing ICE patches.

“When the police arrived, I had asked them, ‘What would you have been able to do if you were here?’ And (they said) ‘not very much, but we would have been able to verify that they were federal agents’,” Shattuck recalled.

The business had never before dealt with federal authorities taking their employees into custody, he said.

In response to the three women being detained, the city of Irvine released a statement reading, “The City’s mission is to create and maintain a community where people can live, work, and learn in an environment that is safe and welcoming for all. Our response regarding immigration-related matters has not changed — the City of Irvine continues to focus on providing exceptional services to all in our community, regardless of immigration status.”

U.S. Rep. Dave Min (D-Irvine) also issued a statement.

“ICE’s unlawful conduct in Southern California—and across the country—has eroded public trust in the agency. Yesterday’s operation in Irvine, which resulted in three adult women being taken into ICE custody near Bake Parkway and Toledo Way, is horrifying.

“That local law enforcement was neither notified in advance nor aware of the operation underscores the lack of transparency that has defined ICE’s recent actions in our region,” Min’s statement said.

Last week, Min sent a letter to ICE’s acting director Todd Lyons calling for transparency about the agency leasing office space at 2020 Main Street in Irvine, which he said is located near schools and childcare agencies. He also requested ICE’s participation in a public meeting with local elected officials, business leaders, and community members.

A protest organized by the 50501 organization’s Orange County branch will be held outside ICE’s new Irvine office from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20, at Mercantile and Morse Avenue.

50501 (standing for “50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement”) is a nationwide grassroots initiative that organizes demonstrations against the Trump administration’s policies, including its immigration enforcement tactics.

Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor ICE officials could be reached for comment Thursday about the three detained women or the planned protest.

The administration has come under widespread criticism for the types of immigrants – including U.S. citizens – that officers have taken into custody during their sweeps and raids.

Trump had initially announced that officers would focus on detaining and deporting “the worst of the worst,” such as convicted murderers, child rapists, and gang members.

But many of those detained have been people who’ve worked in communities around the U.S. for decades, with ordinary jobs and families, and with no violent crimes in their pasts.

According to the latest ICE detention statistics, 73% of people in the agency’s custody have no criminal convictions.