SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Two people detained by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents at a downtown Syracuse restaurant Monday are now being held at detention facilities in New York and Ohio, while a third person who reportedly avoided arrest is in hiding, according to his attorney.
The man and woman were taken into ICE custody around 9:40 a.m. Monday at Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant in downtown Syracuse.
The woman is being held at a county jail in Youngstown, Ohio, approximately 329 miles from Syracuse. The man is being held at a federal detention center in Batavia, N.Y., about 111 miles from the restaurant.
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Immigration Attorney Jose Perez said agents were also pursuing a third person who managed to escape through the restaurant’s basement.
“Well, how that happened was that they entered the restaurant and he was able to go through the basement,” Perez said.
According to Perez, the man is his client and lived with the two people who were detained. Perez claims ICE agents had been surveilling their home before following them to the restaurant Monday morning.
Although his client avoided being taken into custody, Perez said the encounter has significantly disrupted his life.
“Not only was he in a very traumatic state when I saw him yesterday, but he has gone to a different place right now where he’s in hiding. He’s not working right now,” Perez said.
Perez said his client has a valid work permit and a pending immigration case. Despite that, he fears agents will attempt to detain him if he returns to work or continues living in Syracuse.
Perez also raised questions about whether ICE agents had the legal authority to enter the restaurant. He said he was not aware of agents having a warrant authorizing their entry.
“And in this particular case, they didn’t have a warrant to get in. So that entry was illegal,” Perez said.
The attorney’s claim that agents entered the restaurant unlawfully has not been independently verified.
Perez said his client no longer feels safe in Syracuse and is preparing to leave the area.
“He doesn’t feel safe in the town anymore. He believes that if he continues working where he was, he’s going to be detained, so he has no alternative but to leave,” Perez said.
The immigration status and potential next steps for the two people detained Monday remain unclear.
For now, two former roommates are being held at facilities hundreds of miles apart, while a third remains out of custody but is considering leaving Syracuse out of fear of being detained.
