Pancho’s Taqueria in Circle Pines posted to Facebook on Feb. 9 that an employee who had been detained by federal immigration officers was back home with his family.
According to the post, the employee had been in the country legally with a valid work visa. Two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, captured on video, followed him to a back storage area before restraining and detaining him as he yelled for help.
The post said the employee was transferred from El Paso to San Antonio before the restaurant was able to secure his return to Minnesota.
“It took us almost a month after acting incredibly fast and fund raising to see him returned,” Pancho’s wrote. “There are thousands just like (the employee) who have been in these detention centers for even longer because they lack the resources we had.”
Stacey Chase wrote on a GoFundMe set up to cover the family’s legal fees and living expenses that someone had been sent to meet the employee and accompany him on the journey home.
“Their healing from this unnecessary trauma is just beginning,” Chase wrote, “but they are able to begin that journey thanks to your generosity. Thank you doesn’t begin to cover it. Please know that you made a tremendous impact on this young family.”