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Winemaker In U.S. For Decades Detained By ICE: 'Disappointed and Disgusted'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Moises Sotelo-Casas, a popular Oregon vineyard owner, was detained by ICE outside his church on June 12. His daughter, Alondra Sotelo-Garcia told KGW8, "He was in chains at his feet... everything was taken from him."
Newsweek has reached out to ICE via email, and to the Sotelo family via an online contact form, for comment outside of regular working hours.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump campaigned on a hard-line immigration stance and pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. In the initial months of his presidency, the Trump administration said that it deported around 100,000 illegal immigrants.
Under the current administration, ICE has gained expanded powers in enforcement. This includes the right to conduct raids in places of worship, schools, and hospitals. ICE have been conducting raids around the country, something which has sparked widespread protests and backlash. Some of the subsequent arrests have been viewed as heavy handed, while others have wrongly targeted people suspected of having no legal status in the U.S.
What To Know
According to a GoFundMe set up for Sotelo-Casas by his family, Sotelo-Casas is a husband, father of three and a grandfather.
Moises Sotelo-Casas, in a picture shared on the GoFundMe.
Moises Sotelo-Casas, in a picture shared on the GoFundMe.
Sotelo Family/GoFundMe
In 2020, Sotelo-Casas was awarded the annual Vineyard Excellence Award by the Oregon Wine Board and has since established his own small business where he maintains vineyards.
Anthony Van Nice, the owner of a local vineyard who started working with Sotelo-Casas in the 1990s told The Guardian that he was "disappointed and disgusted," by the arrest and how the government is treating immigrants.
In a statement sent to the local outlet KGW, ICE alleged that Sotelo-Casas had entered the United States illegally in 2006 and had a criminal conviction for a DUI.
Alondra Sotelo-Garcia told KGW that her father had come to the U.S. in the 1990s.
The Yamhill country district attorney's office told KGW they had found no evidence of DUI charges.
Sotelo-Casas started the immigration process when President Joe Biden was in office. Alondra Sotelo-Garcia told KGW8 "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."
Sotelo-Casas was first taken to a detention facility in Portland, then to an ICE processing center in Tacoma, Washington and then moved again to the Akima-run Florence service processing center in the Arizona desert, according to The Guardian which reported that neither the family or the lawyers were informed about the relocation.
A poll from Reuters/Ipsos conducted between June 11—12 which surveyed 1,136 Americans nationwide found that 52 percent of respondents (including one in five Democrats and nine in 10 Republicans) supported deportations of people in the country illegally.
49 percent of people in the poll said that Trump had gone too far with his arrests of immigrants. 40 percent said he had not.
What People Are Saying
The GoFundMe set up for Sotelo-Casas reads in part: "Moises has always given back to his family, his employees, his customers, and his community. Now, he needs our collective help. By standing together, we can help ensure he receives fair legal defense and protect his family's unity and well-being.
What's Next
The GoFundMe organized for Sotelo-Casas has already raised over $100,000 and states that "regardless of what happens in the coming days and weeks," the family needs support to secure attorneys, cover expenses and provide stability to Sotelo-Casas' small business.
