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ICE detained Circle Pines, Minnesota restaurant worker at work, flew him to Texas detention within about 12 hours

On January 13, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained a worker at Pancho's Taqueria and Mexican Cafe in Circle Pines, Minnesota, during the federal Operation Metro Surge immigration-enforcement deployment to the Twin Cities. The worker -- identified by restaurant owners only as "Kevin" to protect his safety -- was taken to a federal building in Minneapolis and flown to an ICE detention facility in El Paso, Texas roughly 12 hours later, before his family or an attorney located him. Restaurant owner Frank Chase said Kevin held valid work authorization; ICE and CBP did not respond to reporters' requests for comment on the detention.

Part of: Operation Metro Surge (Twin Cities ICE Surge)

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Circle Pines, Minnesota

Abuses documented

Actors

On the evening of Tuesday, January 13, 2026, plainclothes ICE agents detained a worker at Pancho's Taqueria and Mexican Cafe in Circle Pines, Minnesota, during the roughly 3,000-agent federal Operation Metro Surge deployment then underway across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. Restaurant surveillance footage reviewed by local media showed two agents waiting in the rear parking lot for about 20 minutes before confronting the worker as he retrieved supplies from a storage container; the footage captured a brief struggle in which he lost his phone, glasses and hat, and coworkers heard him repeatedly shouting "Ayuda" ("help"). Restaurant owner Frank Chase, who identified the worker only as "Kevin" to protect his safety, said Kevin held valid work authorization to be in the U.S. and had paid for legal help over the years to obtain it. Agents took him to the federal building in downtown Minneapolis; he was flown to an ICE detention facility in El Paso, Texas the next morning, roughly 12 hours after his arrest -- before his family or an attorney had located him.

Neither ICE nor Customs and Border Protection responded to reporters' requests for comment on the detention or its basis. Chase and Kevin's coworkers raised nearly $25,000 through GoFundMe within days to cover legal fees and support Kevin's wife and young children, quickly exceeding their goal. Chase said the speed of the transfer out of state left him feeling "there's just no due process. Why do we have to send him there?"

Updates

2026-02 — Kevin released after a month in ICE custody [4][5]

Kevin was released after roughly a month in ICE custody, held for part of that time at a facility in San Antonio, Texas. Restaurant owners worked with an immigration attorney and traveled to Texas to bring him home; he returned to his family in Minnesota in early February 2026. No public reporting describes formal charges or a final adjudication of his immigration status.

Why we recorded this

Due process depends on a detained person staying reachable long enough for family and counsel to act. ICE detained a Circle Pines, Minnesota restaurant worker at his job and had him on a flight to an El Paso, Texas detention facility roughly twelve hours later, before his family or an attorney could locate him. Moving someone out of state that fast, ahead of any hearing, makes contesting a detention harder as a matter of process, regardless of its ultimate merits -- which is the shortcut this archive tracks.

Sources

  1. Donations pour in to help after Circle Pines restaurant employee with work visa is detained by ICE — CBS News Minnesota primary accessed August 30, 2026
  2. Circle Pines ICE Arrest Video Shows Worker Crying For Help — Hoodline investigative accessed August 30, 2026
  3. Fundraiser established for Circle Pines restaurant worker taken by ICE — Bring Me The News investigative accessed August 30, 2026
  4. ICE in Minnesota: Circle Pines Pancho's employee released after month in custody — FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul investigative accessed August 30, 2026
  5. Circle Pines restaurant worker returns after month's detainment by ICE — Bring Me The News investigative accessed August 30, 2026

See also