Escucha Mi Voz Iowa says Juan Lopez was stopped Sept. 9 by five unmarked vehicles before agents broke his truck windows and detained him.
A Des Moines resident and father of seven was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 9, in what his family and advocates are calling a violent detainment.
Juan Lopez, 52, was stopped by five unmarked cars just before 7 a.m. Sept. 9 as he headed to work, according to a release from immigrant advocacy and workers’ rights group Escucha Mi Voz Iowa. ICE agents reportedly smashed Lopez’s windows open and detained him. He was on the phone with his partner, Laura Becerra, while the encounter took place, the release said.
The incident took place near 221 SW 63rd St., according to the release. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the Register that Lopez is currently being held by ICE in the county’s jail.
Escucha Mi Voz is calling for Lopez’s immediate release, an explanation for the agents’ use of force, release of any records associated with the arrest and accountability for “any excessive or unlawful use of force,” the release said.
In the release, Tiffany Lopez, Juan Lopez’s daughter, said the family is angry and hurt by her father’s arrest.
“Now my little sister is supposed to sit in class at Stilwell Junior High School wondering whether ICE hurt her dad. We are furious,” Tiffany Lopez said. “My dad is not disposable, and our family will not be silent. ICE needs to release him and answer for what they did.”
Related: ICE detained Iowa father in Clive and deported him to Mexico, group says
Families looking for someone who may be in immigration custody can use ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System. The federal system allows searches using an A-Number or exact biographical information.
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