It was around 9 am on Tuesday, September 16, when Sandra de Anda, director of Legal Policy and Strategy for the Orange County Rapid Response Network, received notifications of two suspicious cars parked outside of Cancun Juice, a restaurant in Santa Ana.

Upon arriving, she noticed that the vehicles in question were parked next to a car wash, The same one that you have already been the target of three immigration raids this year. The last one was last Sunday, when while some were preparing to attend the national holidays in downtown Santa Ana, immigration agents (ICE) arrived at the car wash and took two employees.

This Tuesday, De Anda arrived at the scene before the authorities got out of their vehicle and began a live broadcast on Instagram to warn the entire community not to approach the place.

The immigration agents' tactics were clear to De Anda: park near the target (business), and break into the business at the moment they deemed most appropriate.

"I just took out my phone and started recording," De Anda said. “One thing I wouldn't recommend,” he added, “is approaching the vehicles and looking inside. I saw a couple of officers and what looked like a rifle… I told them they weren't going to arrest anyone here. Not today.” Quickly, other members of the network began to arrive, along with community members who showed up after seeing the live alert on Instagram. Some joined them, and others headed to the car wash. Two women, one carrying a Mexican flag, guarded the entrance, while another person made sure the workers were safe, locked inside their designated area. Other businesses in the area decided to close their doors. "They looked suspicious; they'd been parked since 6 am, and there was a noticeable change in the energy of the place. As soon as we sensed something wasn't right, we didn't think twice and locked the doors," said a Cancun Juice employee. “You can't take any risks these days.”

The Rapid Response Network group yelled at the agents inside the vehicles to leave their community and also alerted other neighbors passing by about the ICE presence. Around 10:30 am, the vehicles were seen leaving the parking lot. No arrests were made.

“There were many factors that contributed to the success of this action. I hope people can use this as an example to replicate at other local car washes,” De Anda said. "It will take more than rapid response teams to stop them; the community has to get involved like it did today."

The Rapid Response Network receives more than five calls a day about alerts of a possible ICE agent presence at different locations in the county, while other calls are being verified. Even on Tuesday, before arriving on the scene, the group had confirmed an arrest of migrant workers in Lake Forest.

The organization's work protecting the community ranges from answering calls about ICE to providing information to the hardest-hit communities.

“One of the most dangerous jobs right now is being a car wash worker,” De Anda said, referring to the raids across Southern California.

On Wednesday, they met with the car wash owner and his employees to discuss the best safety protocols for the mostly outdoor, migrant-worker business.

“We understand how law enforcement works. We also have volunteer attorneys who work with us. This is something we can offer to our local patrol teams who go out on the streets to keep the community safe,” said De Anda, who said hundreds of volunteers have already received training and are monitoring ICE actions in Orange County.

The group is made up of local educators, healthcare workers, students, and other community members, all of whom volunteer their time several times a week.

When they're not working, the volunteers patrol the hardest-hit areas. Today [Tuesday], De Anda said she'll spend the rest of the day at the car wash to ensure employees can work safely knowing someone is protecting them.

“They're not going to get the number of arrests they want,” De Anda said, referring to the 3,000 arrests the federal government said it would make daily. "We will be wherever the officers are to try to prevent arrests."