A Los Angeles street vendor originally from Mexico who came to the United States at age 5 and has had a green card for years is in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainment after dropping off his four children at school.
Newsweek reached out via email to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Why It Matters
The detainment is part of President Donald Trump‘s continued illegal immigration crackdown that some critics have described as aggressive, and in some cases arbitrary, notably regarding immigrants who have been living in the U.S. for years and have no legal record pertaining to violence or other felonious activity.
While ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have faced increased scrutiny and backlash from critics amid the rise in detentions and deportations, the White House has remained consistent in its commentary on such cases by saying that anyone living in the country unlawfully is considered to be a “criminal.”
What To Know
Jorge Cruz, originally of Mexico City, is a street vendor who faces deportation for alleged wrongdoing that remains unknown to his spouse and immigration attorney, according to the art-centered publication Hyperallergic.
Cruz’s wife, Carmen, told the publication that she and Jorge were returning home from dropping off their four kids at school when they were confronted by about six ICE agents.
“We were in our truck,” Carmen said. “One of their cars got in front of us, the other car got in back. ‘We have an order of arrest for Jorge Cruz,’” they said.
She described his demeanor as “calm” as he was apprehended.
He later called to tell her that he was in a Los Angeles detention center. He was reportedly moved the next day to a different detention center in Adelanto, about 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles, where he remains as of Thursday.
She told Hyperallergy that the recent events may have been related to a verbal altercation months ago with another vendor. However, both men were released from custody and charges were dropped.
Cruz married Carmen, a U.S. citizen, in 2014 and obtained his green card, which provided three years’ of eligible citizenship. He had previously been living in the country as a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient.
Mackenzie W. Mackins, an immigration attorney representing Cruz, told Hyperallergic that she has been working with him for years. That has included efforts to get him naturalized, which never came to fruition because of what she described as old arrests and mostly minor infractions related to unpermitted street vending.
“We’ve been fighting this battle for a long time,” Mackins said. “Our argument is, ‘He’s here. He has children, a wife. What’s the point of dragging this on?’”
Newsweek reached out to Mackins via email for comment.
Cruz’s situation is cloudier because of his status as a lawful permanent resident, she added, saying, “They should let him go back to his previous status, fighting his removal.”
Cruz reportedly began street vending at age 11. In the years since, he elevated his business into an enterprise called Del Mar Fruits and More, occupying 25 food carts and 10 employees who sell frutas, elotes, hot dogs and aguas frescas throughout Santa Monica.
What People Are Saying
Groups that have worked with Cruz, including when he participated at an installation called Frieze LA, issued a joint statement on Instagram: “Please join in solidarity with this action and support Jorge Cruz, whose work is a fundamental part of the arts ecosystem of Los Angeles. No one is equal under the law if two of us are governed differently. Thank you for your support!”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a previous statement: “The media is sadly attempting to create a climate of fear and smear law enforcement. These smears are contributing to our ICE law enforcement officers facing 1,000 percent increase in assaults against them. ICE is not conducting enforcement operations at, or ‘raiding,’ schools. ICE is not going to schools to make arrests of children.”
What Happens Next
Cruz is scheduled to have a bond hearing on September 12. His allies in the industry who have advocated for his release encouraged community members to write 200 letters of support that can aid in his potential release.
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