ICE Worksite Raid Splits Watts Family — Father Reunited After Six Months, Legal Fight Continues

Every night for months in their Watts, Los Angeles home, seven-year-old José would turn to his mother, Alma Ramírez, and ask the same heartbreaking question: "Why did they take my dad away?"

On 27 January 2026, 41-year-old José Padilla, a carwash worker and father of four who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while working in Los Angeles. Padilla was one of more than 1,400 people detained in the Los Angeles area that month and among at least 373 carwash workers detained between June 2025 and January 2026, according to advocacy data.

A Family Routine Upended

Alma Ramírez, 31, described how Padilla's arrest instantly unraveled daily life. "It impacted the kids more because they had their dad every day," she said. "Even when he came home tired from the sun, he would still play with them. He paid our bills, helped around the house, bathed the kids. He was a real present dad."

Padilla's absence meant the loss of income and hands-on caregiving: routines, school support and nightly comforts disappeared overnight. The family relied on video calls from the detention center — sometimes the only way the children could see their father — while juggling school, work, and rising expenses.

Emotional and Educational Consequences

Two of the older children, including Alex, a 17-year-old with autism, began showing disengagement at school and later started therapy. Ramírez said Alex had depended on his father for bathing, homework help and attending school meetings. In a submitted letter to an immigration judge, Alex wrote that he wanted to see his father "in real life," not just on a phone or tablet.

"These separations from a caregiver fundamentally reshape a child's development and mental health," said Dr. Lisa Fortuna, chair of psychiatry and neuroscience at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine, in a report that calls worksite raids a "public health emergency."

Experts and organizations warn that detention, deportation and the ongoing threat of separation create chronic stress that can increase anxiety, depression and trauma-related symptoms in children. The Children's Equity Project and the American Psychological Association have linked such disruptions to long-term harm and toxic stress.

Financial Strain and Daily Survival

Beyond emotional tolls, arrests create heavy financial burdens. A 2020 study in Pima County, Arizona estimated that an immigration arrest can cost a household more than $24,000 on average when accounting for lost income, legal fees, seized possessions and other related expenses.

Ramírez — a stay-at-home mother studying to become a certified phlebotomist — said she has had to retake certification exams because she no longer has the time to prepare. Living with her parents helped somewhat, but she described sleepless stretches, a 5 a.m. routine to help her mother, and late-night study sessions while managing the kids and household chores.

Detention, Transfer, and Small Acts of Care

Padilla was first taken to the Adelanto facility and later transferred to the California City detention center in Kern County — roughly a three-hour drive each way from Watts. With unreliable transportation and young children at home, the family relied on intermittent video calls and occasional support from local advocates.

While detained, Padilla took a job in the detention kitchen to stay busy and to earn small amounts of money for toiletries and snacks — an effort Ramírez said was meant to spare his family worry. The Immigrant Defenders Law Center aided the family's case throughout the detention period.

Reunion and an Ongoing Legal Fight

On 4 August 2026 — six months after his arrest — Padilla was released from immigration custody, and his family greeted him at Los Angeles Union Station in a tearful reunion captured by advocates. Though reunited, the family still faces a legal fight to keep him in the United States, and they have left a GoFundMe campaign open to cover attorney fees.

Ramírez said the reunion brought relief but not an end to the family's challenges: rebuilding stability, addressing the children's emotional needs, and navigating immigration court remain urgent priorities. "I can't wait for the day my kids have their father back," she said, noting that recovery will take time.

Note: This reporting was produced in collaboration with the Ethnic Media Health Reporting "Healing California" initiative at the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism and the California Local News Fellowship program at UC Berkeley.