The owner and chef of a popular South Los Angeles restaurant is in ICE custody and now faces deportation, putting both his future and his business at risk.
Video captured the moment Chef Carlos Lool was taken into custody by masked agents on Saturday morning.
“This is heartbreaking. Every single person who’s had a family member taken by ICE knows how sad and humiliating it is,” said Jenna Lawrence, Lool’s business partner and girlfriend.
Lawrence says they were followed by agents while picking up supplies for a catering event over the weekend.
“They pulled him out of the car. They forced him to the ground. They pulled me back, drew their guns, and then took him.”
In the Hyde Park community, Chef Carlos is known as more than a business owner. He is the face behind La Granja Rotisserie and Fuego Rotisserie, recognized for his food and for mentoring young chefs in South Los Angeles.
He also has a criminal conviction from Connecticut dating back about 30 years, for which he served time.
“To think that he might not be here to continue building everything he dreamed of in this country is devastating,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence says the investigation began after a former employee reported the restaurant to authorities, alleging there was a gun inside the business, which would violate Lool’s parole.
She says the firearm was kept for protection.
“We’re in a tough neighborhood. We’ve been robbed. We constantly have people breaking windows and jumping over the fence.”
Now, with Lool detained and potentially days away from deportation, his employees and family are left uncertain about what comes next.
“He’s built his life here. His kids are here. It’s overwhelming. He doesn’t even have his clothes, his phone, or his computer. We own businesses and everything is falling deeper into crisis while he is being deported.”
