ICE in Minnesota: Circle Pines Pancho’s employee released after month in custody

Circle Pines Pancho’s employee screams for help during ICE arrest

An employee at a Circle Pines Mexican restaurant was arrested by ICE agents Tuesday night, and his screams for help were caught on camera.

CIRCLE PINES, Minn. (FOX 9) - An employee of a Circle Pines Mexican restaurant who has been in ICE custody for nearly a month is now back home with his family.

Pancho’s employee released from ICE custody

What we know:

Officials with Pancho’s Taqueria & Mexican Café posted to social media that "Kevin" was back home with his family. After being taken into custody in mid-January, he was taken to the Whipple Federal Building before being transported to El Paso, Texas. 

The restaurant posted the following statement:

"Hola Pancho's Family,

"It brings us an incredibly amount of happiness to share with you that as of late last night Kevin is home with his family. Almost a month after being abducted and illegally detained we were able to go to San Antonio (He was moved again after El Paso) and get him back to Minnesota to be with his family. 

"While this is incredibly good news and we are so happy to see him returned... what is happening in Minnesota is not over. There are still over 2,000 ice officers in the state (vs the standard 150) that are still going after asylum seekers and refugees like Kevin who have no criminal records and only crime in this country is being brown. It took us almost a month after acting incredibly fast and fund raising to see him returned. There are thousands just like Kevin who have been in these detention centers for even longer because they lack the resources we had. 

"We absolutely could not have made it through this last month if it wasn't for the generosity of not just our local Circle Pines/Lexington community but the greater twin cities area. We are eternally grateful for your kind words and acts of support. 

"Please keep doing what you're doing for the community. Spend your money at immigrant businesses (not just us!) and continue to spread the word about the horrible things happening to the hard working immigrants of Minnesota. Together we will keep Minnesota strong and do what is right for every person. 

The only thing more powerful than hate is love. 

Stay strong and kind Minnesota,

-Pancho"

Pancho’s Taqueria & Mexican Café ICE arrest

The backstory:

According to a GoFundMe for the man arrested, the incident unfolded at about 5 p.m. Tuesday at Pancho’s Taqueria & Mexican Café in Circle Pines. Surveillance footage from the restaurant shows what appears to be two plain-clothes ICE officers in the parking lot. Restaurant workers say they had been watching people come and go for about 20 minutes.

The two agents walk toward a storage unit and removed the man, identified as "Kevin," from it. According to the GoFundMe, the man is in the U.S. legally on a work permit. As he’s being pulled out of the storage unit, he screams "Ayuda!" the Spanish word for help, multiple times.

During the arrest, he lost his cell phone, glasses and hat.