MARINA DEL REY, Calif. — An 80-year-old Southern California car wash owner has filed a $50 million federal civil rights lawsuit against ICE, Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, alleging agents violently assaulted and unlawfully detained him during a 2025 immigration raid that left him with broken ribs, head trauma and lasting emotional distress.
The victim, Rafie Ollah Shouhed, and his civil rights attorney are demanding $50 million in damages for the physical and emotional injuries allegedly inflicted by ICE and Border Patrol agents during the raid.
The lawsuit alleges the agents committed assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, a violation of the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment through deliberate indifference to a serious medical condition, and a violation of the Bane Act, California Civil Code Section 52.1, which prohibits interference with a person’s constitutional rights through force or threats.
On Sept. 9, 2025, an immigration raid was carried out at Shouhed’s car wash in Van Nuys, California. Surveillance footage released by Shouhed’s attorney allegedly shows that just after 11 a.m., while customers waited outside the business, multiple large SUVs arrived carrying numerous masked ICE agents wearing bulletproof vests.
Within minutes, multiple ICE agents were seen walking around the premises and chasing employees. Shouhed is visible approaching one SUV and asking what was happening. The lawsuit states Shouhed was never asked for proof of his employees’ work eligibility. As an ICE agent chased an employee inside the small shop attached to the car wash, Shouhed ran inside.
Inside the building, the employee ducked into an office while the ICE officer continued down a hallway directly into Shouhed’s path. The helmeted, masked officer allegedly shoved Shouhed violently to the ground before exiting the building.
Outside, the same helmeted agent grabbed another employee who happened to be walking by. The employee immediately raised both arms in surrender as the ICE agent gripped his shirt. Shouhed approached the two men and attempted to intervene. The lawsuit states Shouhed told the agent, “If there is anything I can do for you, let me help you. I have papers for these guys.” In response, the ICE agent allegedly said, “You don’t fuck with the ICE. We are here.”
A different ICE agent then approached and grabbed Shouhed. According to the lawsuit, another masked agent ran over and together the two agents slammed the elderly man onto the pavement, kneeling on his back while arresting him. Three more officers approached — two holding rifles and standing watch while a third placed his knee on Shouhed’s neck and shoved his head into the ground.
At that point, the lawsuit states, Shouhed told agents he had a heart condition, had recently undergone heart surgery, had three stents in his heart and was having difficulty breathing. He allegedly begged agents to take him to a hospital or call an ambulance, but his pleas were ignored.
Multiple onlookers waiting outside the car wash reportedly held up their phones to record the altercation while others covered their mouths and shook their heads in shock.
One masked ICE agent wearing a hoodie was allegedly seen filming the scene with a camera as the elderly man was lifted to his feet. Shouhed was then escorted out of view of the surveillance footage less than five minutes after agents first arrived at the car wash.
After the raid, Shouhed and five employees were taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.
Once at the detention center, an agent allegedly told Shouhed, “You are a U.S. citizen, so why are you here?” Shouhed became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1980. According to the lawsuit, after informing agents he was a citizen and requesting release, he was instead told to wait for ICE agents to arrive.
For approximately 12 hours, Shouhed was detained despite agents allegedly knowing he was a U.S. citizen. During his detention, he allegedly was denied access to his phone and personal belongings. Despite visible swelling, bruising and complaints of chest pain, no medical evaluation was provided, according to the lawsuit.
“Civil rights protections exist to restrain government power before someone is thrown to the ground, injured and forgotten in a holding cell,” said V. James DeSimone, Shouhed’s civil rights attorney.
During a September 2025 press conference, Shouhed described conditions inside the detention facility, saying detainees slept on mattresses placed on the bathroom floor and were given only one bottle of water while being held in what he described as a sweltering garage.
“They were bringing in people with trucks, innocent little girls with handcuffs and shackles on their feet,” Shouhed said.
After his release without charges, Shouhed’s son immediately took him to a hospital. Medical evaluations allegedly found that the then-79-year-old man suffered multiple broken ribs causing pain during breathing, severe hematomas and swelling that restricted his range of motion, multiple abrasions on his upper extremities and torso, and post-concussive symptoms associated with a traumatic brain injury.
Following the incident, Shouhed temporarily closed his car wash because none of his employees — including U.S. citizens — returned to work due to fear, according to the lawsuit. Shouhed also alleges he continues to suffer severe emotional trauma, including sleep disruptions, hypervigilance, anxiety and intrusive recollections that interfere with daily activities. Physically, he reportedly experiences shortness of breath and chest pain that worsens with movement. Follow-up cardiology and pulmonary evaluations are being arranged because of his cardiac history.
The lawsuit alleges the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection maintain practices that tolerate and condone excessive force.
“We intend to hold federal agents accountable when they injure an innocent person and then act as if the Constitution does not apply to them. The harm they inflicted is deep, long-lasting, and life altering,” DeSimone said.
“Their actions violated the Constitution, California civil rights law, and basic human decency. Our democracy cannot survive if federal agents operate above the law.”
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