A popular Oregon vineyard owner was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody outside his church in Oregon on Thursday.
Moises Sotelo-Casas was detained outside of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Newberg, about 25 miles outside of Portland. His daughter, Alondra Sotelo-Garcia, told KGW8 that he’s now being held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington.
She found out about her father’s detention when a neighbor spotted his truck and told her mother, she said. After confirming the car indeed belonged to her father, she tracked his location to an ICE detention facility in Portland and saw him later that day.
“I was crying, I was a mess,” she told the outlet. "He was in chains at his feet," she said. "Shoelaces were taken off, his belt was off, he didn't have his ring, he didn't have his watch. Everything was taken from him."
Her father runs a vineyard servicing business called Novo Start Vineyard Service. He’s been in the U.S. since the 1990s, but only managed to start the immigration process while President Joe Biden was in office. Things have changed since President Donald Trump came into power, she said.
"I know there's a lot of talk of, 'Well, he's been here that long, why hasn't he stepped up to do things the right way?' But sometimes laws don't play in your favor. You know, when you're trying to do it, sometimes money is a big factor. Sometimes, money and laws at the same time are just not cooperating at that time," said Sotelo-Garcia.
She said she understands that ICE is seeking to detain criminals, but reiterated that’s not who her father is.
The TV station said it couldn’t find any records for Sotelo-Casas.
Cindra Gray, a church deacon at St. Michael’s, said the incident has left her community fearful the same thing could happen again.
"Normally we would have 40 to 50 people in church on a Sunday for our Spanish service, and today we had 12, and no children, just adult children was all that came," she said.
"A lot of people told me they were afraid to come out, even to come out of their houses, going to the store in the dark at night, trying to hide and stay under the radar," she continued.
The fear is stronger than it was during the first Trump administration, said Gray.
“They’re just sitting in their homes, afraid to show their faces so ... it’s not a good way to live, certainly not the American way,” said Gray.
Sotelo-Garcia has started a GoFundMe to help with legal and other expenses, as her father was her family’s primary provider.
The Independent has emailed ICE for comment.
Sotelo-Casas’ arrest comes as people across the country protested ICE detentions, particularly in Los Angeles, California, where Trump recently deployed the National Guard before a federal judge ruled such a move was illegal. But that decision has been put on hold until an appeals court hearing on Tuesday.
Los Angeles Police Department officers have arrested 561 people since June 7, after the demonstrators started to clash with law enforcement officers.
Mayor Karen Bass later imposed an 8 p.m. curfew around the areas where the protests were taking place.
Business owner Ryota Sakai, who runs a retail shop in Downtown Los Angeles, told Cal Matters that they’ve suffered a loss in customer traffic and sales since the protests began.
“I’m a Japanese immigrant myself,” Sakai said. “I have my green card, but I understand the stakes — what others must go through just to be here.”
