A protest was held at Boston University Monday night after a student there claimed his tip led to an immigration raid at the Allston Car Wash last week.

The attorney for the nine employees who were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said three had posted bail on Monday, but none of them had been released.

Video of the incident on November 4 showed ICE agents pull up to the car wash, put the employees in handcuffs and take them away.

“They were asked basically, ‘Do you have any id or documents?’ and when they said ‘Yes, it’s in our lockers,’ they were thrown in the vans and handcuffed and driven away by 22 agents with masks over their faces,” the workers’ attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told WBZ-TV.

Zac Segal statement

Three days later, Zac Segal, president of the BU College Republicans, posted a message online, saying, “I’ve been calling ICE for months on end. This week they finally responded to my request to detain these criminals. As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I’ve seen how American jobs are being given away to those with no right to be here.”

Those comments set off a social media firestorm and Monday’s protest on campus. WBZ has reached out to Segal several times in the last week, but he has not returned any requests for comment.

“This may be naive to say but I was very surprised that this kind of energy would come out of a Boston University student. It was just really disheartening and shocking to me,” said BU employee Olivia Maliszewski, who attended the rally.

Homeland Security rejects “silly rumor”

A spokesperson for Homeland Security said Segal wasn’t the reason for the raid. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called it “a targeted immigration enforcement operation.”

“The operation was highly targeted and relied on law enforcement intelligence-not your silly rumor,” she said in a statement.

Boston University statement

BU President Melissa Gilliam said the school has “had many concerns raised by our campus community and neighbors” about Segal’s post.

“We must affirm the dignity and worth of all people. Too often, we fail to see one another’s full humanity, overlooking the rich complexity and unique gifts each person brings. When we focus only on differences-skin color, political views-we risk fostering division and pain where there should be unity and understanding,” she said in a statement.

Pomerleau said the nine employees were detained illegally without due process. They range in age from 19 to 67. One woman was taken into custody on her 45th birthday, according to Pomerleau. He said they’re immigrants from Guatemala, Columbia, Honduras and El Salvador and added that many of them have work visas.

“Three entered under the Biden administration, four were gotaways at the border, one entered illegally under W. Bush, and another overstayed his visa which expired under President Clinton,” McLaughlin said.

Allston Car Wash statement

Over the weekend, the car wash issued its first statement following the raid.

“At no point did this individual contact us, speak with management, or inquire about our employees or operations. Publicly labeling our workforce as “criminals” without any knowledge of who they are is reckless and distressing,” a spokesperson said of Segal’s comment.

“Our employees are good, hardworking individuals who come to work each day to provide for themselves and their families. We take pride in creating a workplace where people are treated with dignity and respect. Many employees have worked with us for years and in some cases decades.”