Attorney Says Five People Arrested by ICE in Cilantro Taqueria to Be Released on Bond

Five out of six people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Cilantro Taqueria’s Cleveland Heights location are set to be released on bond on Tuesday or Wednesday morning, according to Cleveland immigration lawyer Margaret W. Wong. 

Wong and Ameed Kollab, who represent the six people arrested, hosted a press conference in her office in Downtown Cleveland on Tuesday at noon.

All six people are being held in Geauga County Safety Center, according to Wong, and all six are undocumented and came to the United States from Mexico anywhere from two to five years ago. They range in age from 18 to 35 years old.

One of the people had a prior order of removal, and as a result Wong says she withdrew their bond request. “One of our clients is still going to be detained, but we are going to work toward finding a way for him to be released at a different time,” Kollab said.

On Sunday, Jan. 26, ICE arrested six people in Cilantro. That same day ICE arrested at least 956 people across the country, according to its statement on social media. 

Cilantro Taqueria was named one of Cleveland’s Best in 2023 by Cleveland Magazine.

RELATED: ICE Raid Hits Northeast Ohio Small Business

Wong and Kollab offered more details around the events that led to the ICE arrests at Cilantro. Kollab said that ICE entered the restaurant with a photo of a person they were looking for, asking restaurant workers where he was located.

“The employees did not know where this person was. He was not at the restaurant in that time while they were requesting his presence. They did then detain the remainder of the people who were in the restaurant,” Kollab said. “We were not provided any documentation from the government in relation to any warrants. We’re not sure if they had a warrant on their person. We only have the information that our clients have provided us so far.”

The person ICE was seeking is not one of Wong’s clients, Wong said.

Wong says other ICE raids have taken place in Northeast Ohio, beyond the event at Cilantro. “There were other raids, but I have heard that they did not detain anybody,” she said.

RELATED: Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb Condemns Recent ICE Arrests in Northeast Ohio

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