Undocumented man to be deported after raping, strangling woman in Delaware County
45-year-old Cruz Garcia, who had been living in Fleischmanns, pleaded guilty to strangulation Tuesday in Delaware County Court.
According to District Attorney Shawn Smith, Garcia was originally indicted for rape and unlawful imprisonment as well.
In July 2023, Garcia forcibly raped the victim and strangled her nearly to the point of losing consciousness.
That came just one month after Garcia had been arrested on felony DWI and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation charges in Orange County.
Garcia was released according to New York's bail reform laws despite already being wanted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to a third, unrelated, and unspecified criminal conviction.
Smith accepted the guilty plea in exchange for the time Garcia had already served since his indictment, with the understanding that Garcia would be deported from the country.
Smith criticized New York's bail reform law and thanked ICE for its cooperation in the case.
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Undocumented man to be deported after raping, strangling woman in Delaware County
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Newsweek
21 minutes ago
- Newsweek
ICE Detains Restaurant Owner Mom for Over Two Months After 21 Years in US
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Kelly Yu, the owner of Kawaii Sushi in Peoria, Arizona, had been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since May following a routine immigration check-in after entering the United States from China illegally decades ago. Newsweek reached out to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security via email for comment. Why it Matters Yu's detention underscores how federal immigration enforcement could affect long-term residents and small-business owners who had built deep ties in their communities, including families with U.S. citizen children—as Yu has children who were born here. Her case has also galvanized lawmakers and advocates across partisan lines, raising questions about how removal orders issued years earlier could affect people who had lived, paid taxes and employed residents for decades. The Trump administration has dramatically cracked down on illegal immigration and touted its efforts as successful, notably massive decreases in crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border since President Donald Trump came into office. However, some Americans remain ambivalent about policy end goals—including detaining non-violent, non-criminal immigrants and federal agents making arrests in schools and places of employment. Police keep watch as protesters with the group Extinction Rebellion hold a rally and march outside the immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on August 11, 2025, in New York City. Police keep watch as protesters with the group Extinction Rebellion hold a rally and march outside the immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on August 11, 2025, in New York To Know Kelly Yu was detained by ICE on May 28 and has since been held at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. Homeland Security Investigations told FOX 10 Phoenix that Yu entered the U.S. from Mexico in 2004 and that a federal immigration judge had issued a removal order in 2005, with subsequent appeals denied and a final appellate denial in 2016. Yu fled China in 2004 as a pregnant 18-year-old seeking asylum out of fear of China's "one child" policy. During her 21 years in the country, she has married a U.S. citizen and is a mother to an American citizen and current collegiate student, Zita, who was born shortly after Yu's U.S. arrival and is a legally protected resident. Yu owns the small business Kawaii Sushi in North Peoria. Newsweek reached out to the restaurant via email for comment. "We didn't do anything wrong," Yu said in a video interview from the detention center in July, according to local NBA affiliate 12 News. "We're not criminals." Her asylum case was denied and a federal immigration judge issued a removal order in 2005. Her appeals were later rejected, including a final denial by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2016. Bipartisan Support For Yu Lisa Everett, a self-described lifelong Republican who serves as the chair for GOP Legislative District 29 in Arizona, told Newsweek the following via email on Tuesday: "Recently, I had an experience that reminded me of something our society often forgets: we have far more in common than what divides us." Everett was talking about working alongside Brent Peak, a Democrat activist who heads the grassroots, all-volunteer group Northwest Valley Indivisible in Arizona's 8th Congressional District. The pair has called for Yu's release from detention. "On paper, we should be political opposites," Everett said. "But when we learned about the plight of Kelly both knew this was an issue that transcended party lines. "Kelly is everything we want in an immigrant. She is well loved in her community she gives back to. I am grateful Brent and I came together to help her." Newsweek reached out to Peak and Northwest Valley Indivisible via email for comment. Yu has spent over a decade legally navigating the complex process of becoming a U.S. citizen, Everett added, calling her "respected" and an employer of dozens of workers. She's also given back to the community. Everett said Yu "belongs home with her family in Peoria." The way she and Peak have worked to help free Yu is a lesson that all partisans and politicians can learn from while inhabiting a "polarized" political climate, Everett added. "The truth is, if we start by identifying our shared values, we can build from there," Everett said. "For example, [Peak and I] both agree that if someone is here illegally and commits a violent crime, they should be sent home. That's a starting point for reasonable discussion, not division. "Unfortunately, too many in government are more focused on scoring political points than on serving the people they represent. Somewhere along the way, Washington, state governments, and even local governments, shifted from prioritizing people to prioritizing politics. We need to get back to governing with humanity first." Yu's legal team had filed appeals and community members launched petitions and social media campaigns seeking her release. What People Are Saying ICE, in a post on X on Tuesday: "Business owners: It's time to get right with the law. You know you're not supposed to hire illegal aliens. We're enforcing the law across the board—all businesses in all industries. ICE is not currently visiting businesses that are part of our IMAGE program—we trust that they're compliant." Yu's husband, Aldo, said the following per NBC affiliate 12 News: "Every single day, someone asks us how she's doing or where she is. It's very painful." Brent Peak, co-chair of Northwest Valley Indivisible, to FOX 10 Phoenix: "She has been in the country for 20 years. There's no criminal record. She has a child who was born here and is a citizen. She's built a successful business; she has given back to the community. She is the kind of person we would want in our community." Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat, after meeting with Yu and another detained immigrant on August 7: "Donald Trump is going after people like Kelly Yu and Maria Pelaez who are mothers, grandmothers, members of our communities, instead of using ICE resources to go after criminals. Hearing from them and their families about what they are going through was emotional at times, especially when Maria broke down into tears telling me how proud she was when her son became a Marine. "My team and I will keep fighting for Kelly Yu and Maria Pelaez and their families. Arizonans deserve real solutions for our broken border and immigration system, not what I saw today which was ripping families and communities apart." What Happens Next Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, was expected to meet with Yu on Tuesday at the detention center. Newsweek reached out to his office via email for comment. Senator Mark Kelly visited Yu on August 7, pledging to continue pressing ICE and the Trump administration for answers on detention practices—as well as more transparency at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona.
Eater
an hour ago
- Eater
After Community Push, Square Diner Server Will Be Released Following Two-Month ICE Detainment
is the lead editor of the Northeast region with more than 20 years of experience as a reporter, critic, editor, and cookbook author. Luis Fernandez, a longtime server at Tribeca's Square Diner, is expected to go home within a day after a judge ordered his release from ICE custody on Monday, August 11. The decision follows weeks of organizing by neighbors, regulars, and coworkers who believe the arrest never should have happened. Fernandez, originally from Ecuador, has lived in New York for over 35 years and has green-card status; he currently lives in Queens, is married, and has two children. For over seven years, he has been a familiar face behind the counter at the 100-year-old Square Diner (33 Leonard Street, at Varick Street), until he was detained on June 24 after checking in on his pending asylum application on Long Island. ICE confirmed the arrest in a statement to the Tribeca Citizen in July. After Fernandez, 50, was detained in late June, according to the Tribeca Tribune, he went from 26 Federal Plaza to New Jersey to Maryland and finally to the IAH Polk Adult Detention Facility in Livingston, Texas. In the NYC facility, Fernandez says he was fed a bagel, a bottle of water, and a chocolate chip cookie each day, according to colleagues who kept in touch. From the start, the community moved quickly to rally behind him. Kris Brown, a 25-year Tribeca resident who lives on the same block as the Square Diner, wrote a letter to ICE shortly after Fernandez was detained. 'After sharing [it] with a neighbor and friend, Winsome Brown [no relation], she posted it on her Instagram account, which went viral within a few days [and got] almost 200,000 views,' Brown tells Eater over email. That attention, Brown says, 'led to additional attention to Luis's situation, outreach by the local Tribeca press … [and] a reach-out by my neighbor and a fellow lawyer Claude Millman, who I helped put in touch with Luis's friend and Square Diner coworker Irma Fernando.' Through Fernando, Brown was connected with Fernandez's daughter Liset, and helped coordinate with the legal team ahead of a July 30 virtual status hearing. In the interim, 'We were able to be in touch with Luis via Liset to impress upon him the need to ask for a bond hearing … and to let the judge know that he was represented by counsel and had the money to post a bond, as well as remind the judge that he had a previously scheduled amnesty application pending,' say Brown. Tribeca Citizen reports that, at Monday's bond hearing in Livingston, Texas, senior attorney Carl Relles represented Fernandez, after first-year associate Pam Rosero prepared the motion and supporting documents. A GoFundMe campaign organized by Fernando with help from Brown and Millman raised more than $21,000 — enough to cover Fernandez's $5,000 bond, legal fees, and other expenses, according to Tribeca Citizen. The bond amount was lower than the $10,000 figure that's typical in similar cases. Nationwide, according to a study from the Center for Migration Studies released in 2024, as many as 8.3 million undocumented immigrants work in the U.S. economy, representing 5.2 percent of the workforce. Of those, around a million people or more work in restaurants. For many in the neighborhood, Fernandez's release is a win not just for him, but for a tight-knit community that refused to stand by. 'While Luis's record is not perfect,' Brown says, 'his transgressions occurred long ago, and since then, he has been an outstanding neighbor, worker, and father.' In addition, Fernandez's next court date related to his previously scheduled amnesty application is scheduled for January 30, 2026. Until then, regulars are looking forward to having him back pouring coffee and trading stories at the Square Diner's counter — the same spot where his neighbors first rallied to bring him home.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Democrats press for ICE agents to be ‘visibly and clearly' identified during arrests
House Democrats have called on the Trump administration to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to be clearly identified when conducting arrests. The Democratic Women's Caucus (DWC) wrote in a letter to ICE and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leaders on Monday that the change is necessary to protect women from assaults and kidnappings by imposters. 'All our lives, we are taught to fear masked men in unmarked vehicles. We learn we should run from such men to avoid being kidnapped, sexually assaulted, or killed,' the female lawmakers wrote in their letter. 'Yet, ICE is increasingly conducting raids and arrests in masks, plain-clothes, without visible identification or badges, using unmarked vehicles – tactics that cause confusion, terror, and mistrust among the public.' 'These tactics invited perpetrators of violence against women to take advantage of the chaos by impersonating masked ICE agents in order to target and sexually assault women,' they added. The Trump administration has been carrying out a sweeping immigration crackdown, with arrests of people suspected of being in the country illegally and mass deportations. The Democratic lawmakers cited in their letter reports of men posing as ICE agents as a means to assault women, as ICE doesn't require clear identification for its agents and allows them to wear face coverings. They specifically pointed to three cases — in North Carolina, Maryland and New York — where women were allegedly harmed by men posing as ICE officers. ICE and DHS didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the DWC's letter. ICE acting Director Todd Lyons recently defended policies that allow agents to wear masks and unassuming attire to protect their identities and facilitate arrests, though. 'I've said it publicly before, I'm not a proponent of the masks. However, if that's a tool that the men and women of ICE to keep themselves and their family safe, then I will allow it,' Lyons said on CBS's 'Face the Nation' last month. He also disputed claims that agents are indistinguishable from imposters, arguing that real officers typically wear clothing with an ICE insignia. 'I would push back on the notion that we aren't identifying themselves,' he said.
