14 detained in ICE raid near Butler County line
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed 14 individuals were arrested Wednesday, June 25, at a Mexican restaurant just over the Butler County line in Marshall Township.
Jason Koontz, public affairs officer from the Philadelphia field office for Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations, confirmed the arrests took place at Tepache Mexican Kitchen and Bar, 926 Sheraton Drive.
A statement attributed to an ICE spokesperson by the field office said the ICE unit based out of Pittsburgh, and the ERO unit based out of Philadelphia, along with “federal enforcement partners,” conducted the “worksite enforcement investigation,” at the restaurant.
“During the operation, 14 illegal aliens were encountered and arrested for immigration violations and subsequently detained pending removal proceedings. As this is an ongoing investigation, no further information is available at this time,” the statement said.
The restaurant previously posted to Instagram and Facebook on Wednesday morning saying ICE officials were at the restaurant. By 2 p.m. Wednesday, the restaurant was closed with a sign posted on its door, saying it was trying to “work through the consequences” of ICE showing up.
“ICE is currently raiding our Cranberry location,” the post read. “If you are in the area and would like to support our people, stop by to stand outside and witness. Gracias.”
A video posted Wednesday by a Facebook user named Jose Perez, who appears to be a restaurant employee, warns of the ICE presence from the kitchen. People in the video who appear to be immigration officials can be heard saying “come this way,” “walk toward me” and the Spanish equivalent of “hands up.”
“They are here to take us all from Tepache … There’s nothing you can do about it,” Perez said in Spanish.
Apparently distressed, Perez then approaches the officials with hands raised before the 24-second video ends.
The number of ICE raids and arrests have gone upward in recent months under the administration of President Donald Trump.
The Associated Press previously reported that Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump’s immigration policies, said in May ICE officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump’s second term.
This article has been updated to include information on the Wednesday Facebook post.
