The Iowa City man arrested by plainclothes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials was under investigation for fraud before he was detained, an ICE spokesperson said in a statement.
Jorge Gonzalez, 27, was arrested by three plainclothes ICE officers in Iowa City’s Bread Garden Market on Thursday, Sept. 25. He is currently being held in the Linn County Jail, according to the ICE Detainee Lookup website.
A nearly three-minute video depicting the arrest shows Gonzalez, a Bread Garden Market employee, being pulled from an exit, wrestled to the ground and handcuffed in the middle of the store by three plainclothes individuals.
In the video, Gonzalez appears tense as he resists the officers’ attempts to handcuff him. Bystanders, including the person taking the video, repeatedly ask, “Are you ICE or a cop?” Another individual asks who the agents are with, and one responds, “federal agents.”
The fraud investigation was “a lawful, intelligence-driven enforcement action” that led to Gonzalez’s public arrest, an ICE spokesperson with the division’s St. Paul office said. Gonzalez allegedly attempted to evade law enforcement and resist arrest, the spokesperson said.
“Officers identified themselves to both the business managers and Gonzalez, and despite interference from agitators, they executed the arrest professionally and in full compliance with the law,” the statement from the ICE spokesperson said.
Bread Garden Market owner Jim Mondanaro previously told the Press-Citizen that the agents entered the store “unannounced.”
“The incident was disturbing and frightening, and our priority at this time is supporting all of our employees and guests,” Mondanaro said in an emailed statement on Sept. 25. “We want the Bread Garden Market to be a place where all people in our wonderfully diverse community feel safe and welcome.”
Iowa City police were called to the scene because of the “disturbance,” but arrived after ICE officials had completed Gonzalez’s arrest, the city said in a news release. Iowa City did not have advance knowledge of the enforcement action, the statement said.
Specific information about Gonzalez’s alleged fraud charge was not immediately available. No criminal complaint has been filed in the Iowa District Courts in Johnson or Linn counties, or in the federal court’s PACER system.
Gonzalez came to the United States in November 2024 from Colombia, said David Goodner of the Iowa City-based immigrant rights group Escucha Mi Voz. According to immigration officials, he was in the country illegally.
ICE says ‘inflammatory rhetoric’ puts agents in danger
Escucha Mi Voz characterized Gonzalez’s detention as an “abduction” in a statement on Sept. 25. Immigration enforcement has “no place in grocery stores, schools, churches, or neighborhoods,” said organizer Alejandra Escobar.
“By storming a local business and terrifying customers, ICE trampled on the dignity and safety of Iowa City residents,” Escobar said.
More than 350 people rallied on the Pedestrian Mall in Iowa City on Friday, Sept. 26, just a few hundred feet from where Gonzalez was arrested. His fiancée, Laura Castro, said Gonzalez was in ICE’s Alternatives to Detention program, which required him to wear an ankle monitor at all times.
Gonzalez’s arrest was “lawful,” and claims that it was otherwise “unprovoked, dangerous, or akin to abduction are false, reckless and irresponsible,” the ICE spokesperson said.
“Such inflammatory rhetoric endangers ICE officers and agents and misleads the public,” the ICE statement said. “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.”
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City man was under investigation for fraud before arrest at grocery store, ICE says
Reporting by Ryan Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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