The daughter of an undocumented man detained in a massive immigration enforcement operation in unincorporated El Cajon on Thursday said her father has no criminal history and “didn’t deserve” to be arrested and separated from his family.

“He’s so hard-working — I mean, he’s never taken a day off,” Gaby Hernandez, a U.S. citizen, said about her father, Carlos Hernandez. “He’s always been a provider, and he makes sure that we never miss a meal. We always have everything we need.”

Gaby said her father has been in the U.S. for more than two decades and has worked at San Diego Powder & Protective Coatings for over 15 years, working six days a week from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Carlos Hernandez was at SDPC Thursday when federal agents descended on the business at Airport Drive and Magnolia Avenue, executing a search warrant stemming from a 2022 drug trafficking investigation that evolved into a probe of employees not authorized to work in the U.S.

The operation involved a heavy law enforcement presence for hours, with agents from multiple agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration and others.

Carlos Hernandez was one of several taken into custody – though HSI has not responded to multiple requests on exactly how many people were detained or how many agents were involved.

“I think what happened to him and everyone else in there is so unjust, and it’s cruel,” Gaby said. “And he didn’t deserve that because he’s a good man and he’s never done anything. He’s never hurt anyone.”

Gaby Hernandez said she’s in her third year at UC San Diego, studying to, hopefully, become a physician’s assistant one day and fulfill her parents’ dream.

“I want to fulfill what they came here to do, which is to build a family and to give their kids opportunities,” Gaby said. “And I want to be able to give back to them. I’m so grateful to my dad because without him, I wouldn’t – I really wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have accomplished everything that I’ve been able to accomplish.

“Because of him, I’ve been able to graduate high school, I’ve been able to take all of these extracurriculars and classes, and I’ve been able to go to UCSD, and it’s such a wonderful opportunity. I think everybody, especially families like mine, they shouldn’t have that taken away from them because we’re just trying to do the same thing that everybody else is. We’re just trying to get along in life and to provide something better for ourselves. And I don’t think that’s — that’s not a crime.”

Gaby said since that the election of President Donald Trump, her family has lived in constant fear, though she never wanted to think about the possibility of her parents being deported.

“It feels empty. Last night was the worst night ever. It felt like something — something was missing. And it felt so horrible,” Gaby Hernandez said through tears. “I couldn’t sleep. My brother couldn’t sleep. And it’s just hard not knowing where he is or what he’s doing or how he feels. And it breaks my heart to think about what he could possibly be going through.”

Gaby said she spoke to her father only briefly via phone on Thursday night. She said she didn’t know where he was being held, but he told her he was going to be taken to the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

“He told me and my brother that he loves us and that he wants me to keep studying,” Gaby said, “and that I need to take care of my brother. But I told him that he should have hope and that he’s going to come home. We’re going to get him home.”

“I understand the heartache of that kind of a thing, and it is difficult,” said El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells. “But the reality is he broke the law when he came into the country illegally.”

The operation happened in unincorporated El Cajon, meaning it was not in Wells’ city, but he has supported the Trump administration’s push to fulfill the campaign promise of deporting millions of people and helped to pass a resolution affirming El Cajon’s desire to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officials in removing individuals with criminal convictions.

Wells did note on Friday that the debate on collateral arrests of those without a criminal record is one in need of a resolution.

“And that’s going to have to happen in the halls of Congress,” Wells said. “That’s going to have to happen in the White House. It’s not going to be, certainly, happening in the city of El Cajon.”

Four people were facing charges after the operation, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday.

Federal prosecutors said John Washburn, the general manager of SDPC, employed undocumented workers and allowed them to live in the company’s warehouse. He has been charged with conspiracy to harbor aliens. Three employees — Gilver Martinez-Juanta, Miguel Angel Leal-Sanchez and Fernando Casas-Gamboa – were charged with felony false attestation, with the DOJ alleging they used false documents to work in the U.S.

Gaby Hernandez said her family planned to hire a lawyer to fight her father’s case. To the federal government, she had a message.

“I would tell them how I feel: that they’re breaking families apart,” Gaby said. “And that it’s — it’s cruel and it’s unjust, and it’s inhumane, and it’s something that … I don’t know how people can do that or how people can have so little compassion for others. And it just breaks my heart.”