An Iowa City resident was taken into custody by federal agents at Bread Garden Market in Iowa City on Thursday morning.
A video provided to The Daily Iowan by Escucha Mi Voz, an immigrant workers’ rights organization based in Iowa City, shows Jorge Elieser Gonzalez Ochoa being detained by three men in plain clothes who identified themselves as federal agents.
Jim Mondanaro, the owner of Bread Garden Market, said in an email to the DI that federal agents arrived at the store, unannounced, and caused a disturbance when Gonzalez Ochoa, a Bread Garden Market employee, was arrested by federal law enforcement.
“The incident was disturbing and frightening, and our priority at this time is supporting all of our employees and guests,” Mondanaro wrote in an email. “We want the Bread Garden Market to be a place where all people in our wonderfully diverse community feel safe and welcome.”
Gonzalez Ochoa was wearing a Bread Garden Market shirt when arrested.
The City of Iowa City confirmed that the incident was federal law enforcement in a statement on Thursday. However, it also said that the city did not have prior knowledge of the incident.
“As the incident was unfolding, Iowa City Police were dispatched to Bread Garden for a disturbance in progress related to the incident,” the statement read. “The federal law enforcement action was concluded prior to officers’ arrival.”
Gonzales Ochoa is currently in the Linn County Jail on an immigration hold, according to jail records.
According to a news release from Escucha Mi Voz, Gonzales Ochoa was a member of the organization and was living at the Catholic Worker House, a close partner with Escucha Mi Voz. He was living there with his wife and three children, the release said.
Escucha Mi Voz Organizer Alejandra Goodwin condemned the arrest and said it was “unprovoked and dangerous.”
The arrest was made in the middle of Bread Garden Market, and the federal agents used “excessive force to abduct Jorge Elieser Gonzalez Ochoa, disrupting business operations and endangering workers and customers alike,” Goodwin said.
Disclaimer: This video contains graphic content and language.
“This reckless action is an attack not only on Jorge and his family, but on our entire community. Immigration enforcement has no place in grocery stores, schools, churches, or neighborhoods,” Goodwin said in the news release. “By storming a local business and terrifying customers, ICE trampled on the dignity and safety of Iowa City residents.”
Goodwin called for Gonzalez Ochoa’s release from custody and for an “end to the violent tactics of ICE that put out communities at risk.”
“Escucha Mi Voz Iowa stands with Jorge, with Bread Garden workers and customers, and with all immigrant families who deserve to live and work with dignity and justice,” Goodwin said in the release.
UI student witnesses “abduction”
Michael Danos, a third-year University of Iowa student, said he was sitting a mere 20 feet away from the altercation, and thought it was a fight breaking out at first.
Danos said the whole experience left him feeling haunted, and that he never heard anyone identify themselves as ICE agents, nor did they identify themselves as law enforcement until Gonzales Ochoa was on the ground and nearly handcuffed.
“It’s just shocking to see someone be taken away with no justification — I mean, for all intents and purposes, it appears to be an abduction,” Danos said. “No one around was given any information. So, haunting, because to know that anyone around you or yourself could just be taken like that.”
ICE calls rhetoric “false, reckless, and irresponsible.”
In a statement to the DI, an ICE spokesperson said that they arrested Gonzalez Ochoa during “a lawful, intelligence-driven enforcement action in Iowa City” on Thursday.
According to the statement, Gonzalez Ochoa is under criminal investigation for fraud. The statement also said that officers identified themselves to both the business managers and Gonzalez Ochoa, “and despite interference from agitators, they executed the arrest professionally and in full compliance with the law.”
The statement also condemns the rhetoric surrounding Gonzalez Ochoa’s arrest.
“Such inflammatory rhetoric endangers ICE officers and agents and misleads the public,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement. “Despite baseless accusations and provocations, ICE officers remain committed to enforcing laws written by Congress and protecting communities with professionalism and integrity, regardless of race, religion, or nationality.”