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SOUTH LOS ANGELES () — The owner and chef of a popular South Los Angeles restaurant is in ICE custody and facing deportation, putting his future and that of his business on the line.
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 or someone that they love taken from them by ICE – it is so sad and humiliating,” 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 yanked him out of the car. They had him on the floor. They yanked me back and pulled out their guns and then they took him.”
For customers in Hyde Park, Chef Carlos is more than just a business owner. He’s the face of La Granja Rotisserie and Fuego Rotisserie – known for his food and also years of mentoring young chefs in South L.A.
He also has a criminal conviction from Connecticut dating back about 30 years – a crime he served time for.
“To think that he’s not gonna be here caring for everything that he dreamed about building in this country is just devastating.”
Lawrence says the investigation started after a former employee reported the restaurant to authorities, claiming there was a gun inside the business – a violation of Lool’s parole.
Lawrence says it was needed for protection.
“We’re in a tough neighborhood. We have been robbed. We constantly have people breaking windows and jumping over the fence.”
Now, with Lool detained and possibly days away from deportation, his employees and family are left wondering what happens next.
“He’s been in this country. His kids are here. It’s just a lot and it’s very overwhelming… and he doesn’t have his clothes, no cell phone, no computer – and we own businesses. We’re just getting deeper and deeper in a hole because he’s being deported.”
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