Latest news with #CasaSanJosé
CBS News
7 days ago
- CBS News
ICE agents arrest 14 people during immigration raid at Pittsburgh-area restaurant
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 14 people during an operation at a Mexican restaurant in Allegheny County on Wednesday, ICE officials said. A spokesperson for ICE told KDKA that 14 undocumented migrants were arrested for "immigration violations" during the operation at Tepache Mexican Kitchen and Bar in Marshall Township. Pictures obtained by KDKA show men and women with shackled hands and feet being walked out of the restaurant and placed into police vehicles. Jamie Martinez and other immigration advocates came to show support for those arrested on Wednesday. Martinez is the community defense organizer for Casa San José, a non-profit community resource center that advocates for Latinos. It provides social services, youth programming, health services and more to the Latino community in the Pittsburgh area. "As they were walked out, they would wave at us and tell us thank you for being there with tears streaming down their face in fear," Martinez said. "If it's true that these people today are undocumented ... why does Casa San José feel they should be allowed to stay without documentation?" KDKA's Jennifer Borrasso asked Martinez. "Every human being should be afforded dignity," he said. "Every human being has inherent dignity tied to them. What we are seeing right now, above all else, is violations of that dignity." The ICE spokesperson said officers "conducted an [Homeland Security Investigation]-led worksite enforcement investigation where they executed a federal search warrant" at the restaurant. The spokesperson did not say what the agents were specifically searching for. The 14 people are now in ICE custody, the spokesperson said, but they did not say where the 14 people were taken. The FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration assisted on Wednesday, the ICE spokesperson said.
CBS News
17-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Nonprofit fears what ICE crackdown means for immigrants in Pittsburgh
On Sunday, President Trump directed federal immigration officers to prioritize enforcement in Democratic-run cities. It followed major protests across the country. Local immigration rights advocates worry the stepped-up enforcements will strain already limited resources and heighten fear in the community. Monica Ruiz is the head of Casa San José, a nonprofit that serves Pittsburgh's Latino immigrants. She said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have captured hundreds of people, both undocumented and documented, across southwestern Pennsylvania since January. "We're seeing pickups every single day, which is a lot more than we used to see," Ruiz said. She called the enforcements "not humane," with some people being apprehended while taking their children to school. "There are people that may have, you know, didn't stop at a stop sign, and instead of getting a ticket, they're getting a deportation," Ruiz said. On social media Sunday, the president directed ICE "to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History." He added that they need to focus on deportations from Democratic-run cities. It comes after White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said a few weeks ago ICE would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from 650 during the first five months of Trump's second term. Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. David McCormick reacted to the news on a stop in Pittsburgh Monday while touring the National Energy Technology Laboratory. "Ultimately, we need to work our way through this and do it thoughtfully. I think that's what's happening, I think these ICE, members of the immigration and customs service who are doing this, are doing a great mission, and I think they're doing that with professionalism and empathy," McCormick said. That's not how Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey sees it. In a statement, he said in part, "We have seen ICE indiscriminately detain legal immigrants and U.S. citizens who have been outspoken in their disagreement with administration policy." He also added that his "administration will continue to mobilize our resources to ensure the safety and security of our residents, so that everyone feels safe and welcomed." For Ruiz, she said she fears the president's move will deplete resources, which are already lacking due to funding that's been cut. "We are the city of Mister Rogers, where we're supposed to be nice to our neighbors, but then now it's going to say, well, you know, if these cities don't comply and don't do what they're going to do, we're going to take away resources, blaming it on the immigrants," Ruiz said. Sources told CBS News the Trump administration has directed ICE to halt arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels, due to concerns that the enforcement is negatively impacting those industries.
