ICE raids local taqueria

 Crackdown– The Trump administration’s controversial crackdown on individuals deemed to be in the United States illegally hit close to home earlier in the week when federal ICE agents, some wearing masks that hid their faces, raided a San Benito taqueria, arresting several individuals.  (San Benito News/Ray Quiroga)

By RAY QUIROGA
publisher@sbnewspaper.com

A San Benito eatery was the target of a Department of Homeland Security Investigations [HSI] raid that resulted in multiple arrests of individuals U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] deemed as being in the United States illegally.

The raid occurred on Monday at Taqueria Mante in San Benito, located on Bus. 77.

Twenty-two-year-old Alexis Vasquez, a Mexican national, was arrested on site and deported to Matamoros, Mexico, later that day. Mexican media reported that it took ICE just six hours to deport Vasquez to Mexico, where he was reunited with his mother.

In all, six individuals were arrested. By Thursday morning, the restaurant was back in business, posting breakfast specials on social media. It also posted help-wanted solicitations for kitchen staff.

“I literally cut the dude’s hair on Saturday,” wrote Ralph Angelo on Facebook. Others blamed the current administration for tearing people from their families, while others blamed the previous administration for their reported lax immigration policy.

Others applauded the effort, saying that America’s laws need to be obeyed. “If you are here illegally, you have to go,” said Art Martinez. In contrast, others have pointed to the fact that since the White House raised its quota for apprehensions, several individuals, even some with American citizenship, have been arrested and deported.

The League of United Latin American Citizens [LULAC], The United Farmworkers Union [UFW] and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund [MALDEF] have issued suggested guidelines if confronted by ICE which include that individuals believed to be targeted by ICE should not allow agents to enter their homes without a warrant and to remain silent when apprehended, adding that basic Fourth Amendment Rights apply regardless of illegal status, that includes the right to legal representation.

Vasquez was asked about his status upon arrest and given the option to either self-deport or fight the case in court, he told Mexican media. ICE checked for any criminal record before he was deported. Vasquez also told Mexican media that his sisters reside in San Benito and are U.S. citizens.

LULAC has reported that migrants who have appeared in immigration court for their status hearing have experienced their cases automatically dismissed and apprehended on-site by ICE, leading to their deportation.

Meanwhile, video and still images of the raid quickly circulated on social media, showing the baby-faced Vasquez and others who were apprehended. Many of them, appearing to be young-looking males sitting outside the eatery with their wrists bound while a female recording the video is heard berating ICE agents, demanding that they remove their masks and questioning their heritage, as many, if not all the agents involved in the raid, appeared to be Hispanic in origin.

According to online reports, some 1,800 protest events are scheduled across the country on Saturday, the same day the Trump administration has scheduled a military parade in Washington, D.C. Valley organizers have scheduled four to date in Brownsville, Harlingen, McAllen, and San Benito.

The local LULAC chapter is hosting its protest rally on Saturday, June 14, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at San Benito City Hall, located at 485 N. Sam Houston Blvd., San Benito.