TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – New details have emerged about an Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation that occurred Friday outside a Tallahassee food truck.
Three immigrants were detained as ICE and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) were “conducting targeted immigration enforcement activities,” ICE wrote in a press release Thursday.
The incident transpired Friday as troopers and ICE agents were attempting to stop a white truck that was “carrying a suspected illegal alien from Guatemala in the vicinity of West Tennessee Street,” according to the statement.
However, as officers began to stop the vehicle, ICE said the driver pulled into the Chile & Chili’s Taqueria just before all the occupants immediately exited the vehicle “and started running.”
ICE identified the three detainees as Reginaldo Quej, Erwin Orlando Xoy Acaham and Catherine Migdalia Rax Sis. According to one of the food truck owners, the three individuals were employees.
New details emerge in ICE operations that led to shut down of Tallahassee food truck(Immigrations & Customs Enforcement (ICE))
Although the three individuals were detained outside the food truck, an ICE spokesperson went on to say that it “did not target the Taqueria.”
Since then, Xoy Acaham has requested a voluntary departure, according to the spokesperson. All three detainees will remain in ICE custody pending removal for Quej, Xoy Acaham’s departure and Rax Sis’ immigration proceedings.
In its statement Thursday, ICE said that all three detainees entered the United States illegally.
However, the food truck’s owner told WCTV that all three were from Guatemala and in the process of finalizing their immigration paperwork before they were detained.
The ICE spokesperson says “being in detention is a choice” as the U.S. offers cash and a free flight to self-deport. The immigration agency says undocumented immigrants should take that opportunity; otherwise, they’ll be arrested and deported “without a chance to return.”
The immigration operation Friday drew public outcry in the capital city as community members rallied behind the restaurant.
Hundreds gathered Wednesday night at the Taqueria in protest of the immigration operation that led to its closure.
Marco Tenorio, the owner of Chile and Chili’s, said he was grateful for the community’s support.
The restaurant still has its Governor’s Square Mall location open to the public.
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