The family of a Corpus Christi food truck owner says he was detained by ICE while on his way to set up for the day in the London area.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Corpus Christi food truck owner was reportedly detained Friday morning in the London area by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to his family members.
Saul Palomares was detained while on his way to set up for the day, family members told 3NEWS. The reported detention has prompted concern and reaction from members of the local community.
Sandra Ruiz, Palomares’ niece, told 3NEWS that she learned about the incident through a voicemail he left while the encounter was unfolding. She lives in Austin and said that as the only U.S. citizen in her family, she is working to get her uncle released.
“On the voicemail that I heard, he said that ICE was detaining him. He said, ‘ICE, I have a situation with ICE,’ and you could hear the conversation on the voicemail that he left me,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz said the voicemail captured what appeared to be officers talking with Palomares as they instructed him to step out of the vehicle.
“He said, ‘I need your help,’ and then you could hear the cop or the detainee, the officer saying, ‘You need to leave the keys. Whoever’s gonna pick up the car or the truck, the food company, whoever’s gonna pick up the car, they just need—you need to leave the keys here, and I need you to step out of the car,’ is what I could hear on the voicemail,” Ruiz said.
The circumstances surrounding Palomares’ detention were not immediately clear.
3NEWS has reached out to several local agencies such as CCPD, the Nueces County Sheriff’s Office, DPS, and Border Patrol. They said none of their officers were involved.
We also reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for information about the reported detention and are awaiting a response.
This is a developing story. 3NEWS will provide updates as more information becomes available.
