A father of four, who had illegally lived in the United States for over 20 years, was detained when ICE knocked down his door looking for someone else.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement arrived at the Illinois home in search of a man named Jose Ramos, 26, who is wanted for suspected murder charges.
Ramos was not home and his family said he had not been seen or heard from in months. But instead of leaving, the agents arrested Ramos’ step-father, 44-year-old Raul Lopez.
Lopez’s daughters said they were getting ready for school and his wife was holding their three-year-old child when agents handcuffed him and escorted him out of his home in Elgin.
Betzy Lopez, 18, told local Fox affiliate, WFLD News, that around 20 agents forced their way into her family’s home. They handcuffed family members as they searched the residence.
Betzy recalled a heavy knock at the door around 7:00 am. The family was afraid of the recent ICE raids and said they wouldn’t let agents in unless a warrant was presented.
Betzy’s sister, Janeth, recorded the shocking interaction. Video footage revealed the agents busting down the front door as the family screamed in protest asking for a warrant.
The door was broken with a bar, leaving splintered wood around the entryway. Betzy told WFLD that her family couldn’t close the door for the rest of the day and had to push it closed with a chair.
Lopez is married and has four daughters who witnessed his arrest during an ICE raid on their home
Authorities busted through Lopez’s home after his daughter asked to see a warrant
After forcing their way in, agents pressed the family on where Jose Ramos was. They responded that no one in the home had seen Ramos for months and that he didn’t live with them.
ICE acted alongside the US Marshals Great Lakes Regional Task Force. A spokesperson for the Marshals Service told the Chicago Tribune that authorities conducted a ‘systematic search of the residence.’
Authorities discovered Lopez hiding in the attic and discovered that he was an undocumented migrant.
Sanjuana Ramos, Lopez’s wife, begged agents to check his criminal record and pleaded that her husband did nothing wrong.
When she asked the agents why they were detaining him, they responded, ‘We have to take someone.’
Sanjuana told the Tribune that her family wasn’t concerned with the increase in ICE arrests because she believed her family had done nothing wrong.
‘He told me to be strong, that we didn’t owe them anything and that we were just working hard to make sure our daughter could finish school,’ Sanjuana said her husband told her.
Lopez works in construction and was helping his daughter through nursing school, Betzy old local CW affiliate, WGNTV.
Authorities broke through the door while Lopez’s family was inside
Lopez’s father said that he didn’t have a criminal record and worked hard to provide for their family
‘His whole life he was just working, telling us that he just wants what’s best to work for us, give us everything he can so we can be good. Not everyone is bad, some people do try to come here just to give their kids a better life,’ she told the outlet.
‘I’m just scared, I’m worried about him, I don’t know how he’s doing, I worry about my family too, like what’s going to happen, what are we going to do,’ Bethzy said. She added that her family doesn’t know where her father is.
Lopez’s detainment is an example of collateral arrests, a practice that was banned under the Biden administration.
President Trump and Homeland Security Kirsti Noem have cracked down on illegal immigration, resulting in ICE raids nationwide and a drastic increase of daily arrests.
On Wednesday, ICE posted on its official X account that the agency made over 1,000 arrests in one day. The account has begun posting daily statistics, which range from 500 to over 1,000 arrests.
Noem tagged along for an ICE removal operation in New York City earlier this week, posting a video to her X account claiming that she was ‘getting the dirt bags off the streets.’
The enhanced immigration measures are a result of Trump’s first executive orders, declaring a national emergency at the southern border and calling for more detention centers.
Trump also signed his first piece of legislation, the Laken Riley Act into law on Wednesday, which expands deportation measures.
The bill was named after a Georgia nursing student who was killed by an undocumented immigrant in the US.
The new law expanded deportation of undocumented migrants to include minor theft/shoplifting, burglary, larceny, or assault.
Critics of the law argue that migrants who don’t pose a risk to the general public can be subject to deportation, and it could prevent people from reporting crimes out of fear of retaliation.
