6 workers at Mexican restaurant in Marshfield arrested by ICE, manager says

Giacomo Bologna | Springfield News-Leader

Show Caption Hide Caption Deportations take toll on mixed-status families With an American husband and US-born daughter, Letty Stegall thought she was immune from deportation. Now, two decades after entering the country illegally, she sits in Mexico, phones and a laptop her only connection to her former life. (July 23)

Six employees of a Mexican restaurant in Marshfield were arrested by officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement in July, according to the restaurant's manager.

El Charro's manager, Jorge Macias, said the six men had no criminal history since illegally immigrating from Mexico several years ago.

Macias said he doesn't know why El Charro is being scrutinized now, but what's happening in Marshfield appears to be part of a surge of similar arrests nationally.

One of President Donald Trump's first actions in office was to expand the power of immigration officers, allowing them to arrest any undocumented immigrant.

The arrests in Marshfield have upset some customers of El Charro.

"It's like a Mexican version of 'Cheers,'" Arilla Butts said of the restaurant. "That's our biggest question — why? ... It just seems to be a target."

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Phillip Thrower said he and Butts have been regular customers at El Charro for years.

"Every time you come here, it's family," Thrower said. "It's like eating at your grandma's house."

At least three of the arrests are described in federal court documents.

According to the documents, Jose Vargas-Leon, 25, was driving a pickup truck in Marshfield on July 12 when two ICE deportation officers pulled him over.

Vargas-Leon and two other men in the truck presented Mexican identification documents and said they were in the country illegally, documents say.

All three are now in county jails, according to online records.

Federal court documents say the Marshfield police chief responded to the scene and found a loaded pistol in the cab and shotgun ammunition in the bed of the pickup truck.

Vargas-Leon said he had owned the pistol for seven years and had another gun at home, documents say, which ICE officers later seized.

Vargas-Leon allegedly said he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on foot in 2011, when he was either 17 or 18 years old.

He was indicted on July 23 for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.

A News-Leader reporter attended a court hearing for Vargas-Leon on Thursday and spoke with a special agent from the Department of Homeland Security outside the federal courthouse.

That agent, Greg Bowie, said that before the July 12 traffic stop, Vargas-Leon and his passengers were not suspects in any crimes other than illegally immigrating to the United States.

Bowie said all three men, who lived together in Marshfield, are now on track to be deported.

The News-Leader later learned that the three men also worked at El Charro.

When contacted by the News-Leader about the three arrests, Macias, the manager, said there were actually six arrests.

"I was working almost by myself," Macias said.

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Two other employees were picked up by ICE during another traffic stop in Marshfield, Macias said, and a sixth was arrested at El Charro.

Macias said officers came to the restaurant looking for a man who didn't work there, and when they couldn't find him, they arrested his brother, Alfonso Ayala-Pedroza.

Ayala-Pedroza's wife, Ashlee Myers, said she has visited her husband three times at the Christian County Jail. They have a 2-month-old son, Diego.

Myers said she thought Macias was joking when he said her husband had gotten arrested.

"I never thought it would happen," Myers said. "Why would they pick on people who haven't done anything?"

Some cities — "sanctuary cities" — have policies against cooperating with immigration authorities.

The mayor of Marshfield, Robert Williams, said his city has no such policy.

Williams would not comment on the arrests of the El Charro employees.

"I know that ICE does exist in our area, but I'm not aware of any specific details," Williams said by phone.

The mayor added that Marshfield will cooperate with state and federal officials.

Williams said that he has been to El Charro before, and when a reporter began to ask follow-up questions, Williams hung up.

Doug Fannen, Marshfield's police chief, did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for ICE said the agency does not have data on arrests by state or city readily available.

According to statistics from ICE, the type of arrests that took place in Marshfield — involving individuals who do not have criminal records — is a small portion of the total arrest made by ICE.

However, that percentage is growing.

In fiscal year 2016, ICE arrested 15,353 non-criminal immigration violators, less than 14 percent of the total arrests.

In fiscal year 2017, ICE arrested 37,734 non-criminal immigration violators, more than 26 percent of the total arrests.

Still, the numbers of non-criminal ICE arrests under President Trump have not come close to those in the early years of President Barack Obama's administration.

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In 2010, during the first full fiscal year of Obama's presidency, ICE arrested 129,302 non-criminal immigration violators, which was nearly half of all ICE arrests over that period.

The Obama administration later prioritized arresting immigrants with criminal convictions, leading to a large decrease in non-criminal arrests before Trump took office — a decrease that is now being reversed.

The Pew Research Center estimated in 2015 that there are 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., about half of whom are from Mexico.

During his first remarks as a candidate for president, Trump disparaged Mexican immigrants.

"They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,” Trump said in 2015.

Macias said his employees are the good people, who pay their taxes and contribute to their community — and he is, too.

Macias, like his employees, faces deportation. He said he illegally immigrated from Mexico about two decades ago.

Macias said he was arrested last year at the Webster County courthouse when he tried to take care of a traffic ticket.

According to Macias, he spent 40 days in an Illinois jail before he was able to bond out.

He said his next court date is in 2021.

Macias said he likes Marshfield "because it's a quiet town, a nice town."

He said he works hard and owns some horses and a small farm that has tomatoes, corn and jalapenos.

"I hope I stay here a little longer," Macias said.