GEORGETOWN, Del. - A Georgetown family says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained Raúl Tapia on Wednesday after surrounding his van near his home as he and his son drove to work, questioning why he was taken into custody without an arrest warrant and despite having no criminal record.
The family says Raúl came to the United States from Mexico about 25 years ago and acknowledges he does not have legal status.
Dante Tapia said the stop happened immediately after he and his father left home.
"I saw a police car come up in front of our van, and the lights came on, and two people got out of the truck, and my dad told me to call my mom, and so I did, and I was on the phone with her saying that there are cop cars around our van, and that they're surrounding us," Dante said.
According to Dante, the agents were wearing masks.
"They didn't have badges. They didn't have any warrant or anything," he added.
He said the timing of the stop stood out to him.
"There's no way that they could have anticipated where we were unless they knew our routine, because it was exactly when we left to go to work and turn the corner," Dante recalled.
According to the family, three unmarked black trucks surrounded the van at a stop sign, and six masked ICE agents approached and broke the van's windows during the detention.
The Tapia family several years ago.
Dante said agents tried to open the doors.
"They didn't try to ask us to roll the windows down. They were just pulling on the door handles, knocking on the windows, things like that," he said.
Raúl's son said that less than 10 seconds after agents approached, there was glass all over.
"They were knocking on the windows, trying to get us to come out, and eventually they broke the windows and pulled us out of the van. They pushed me against the van, asking where I was from. 'Were you born here?' And I said that I was, and they let me go, but they didn't say a word to my dad. They just handcuffed him and threw him into one of the trucks," Dante said.
Shattered glass inside Raúl's work van.
Dante said agents did not ask him for identification.
"They just asked if I was born here or an American citizen. I said, 'Yeah,' and they just took my word for it, but they did not ask for anything. They didn't ask my dad anything," he said.
Dante said a third person was also approached.
"When they were grabbing me and my dad, also my boyfriend, who was at the house, he came up because he saw what was happening, and they grabbed him too and pushed him against the van, and they asked where he was from, and I said that he lived here, and they let him go as well. They didn't ask either of us for our IDs," Dante said.
Dante said he was on the phone with his mother during the detention.
"I had my phone in my hand because I was on the phone with my mom, and when they pulled me out of the van. One of them said, 'It looks like he's got something. He's like grabbing something, or like reaching for some kind of weapon or something.' So, they grabbed my phone and threw it away, and when they put my dad into one of their trucks, he was saying that they were hurting him," Dante said.
Beth Tapia, Raúl's wife, said she was terrified when she received the call and immediately dialed 911.
"I've heard many times about people posing as police officers, and so I'd call 911 right away because there were no badges, there was nothing presented. There was somebody smashing the window as I'm on the phone with my son," Beth said. "I hear them telling my son, hang up the phone. Hang up the phone."
Beth said she went outside after the call.
"When I ran out of the house to look down the street, there was one [vehicle] behind on one side, one behind on the other side, and then one in the front," she said.
Delaware court records show Raúl has no criminal history. His family says he pays taxes, works, and volunteers in the community, adding that his sons are Eagle Scouts.
"We live like an American family would live," Beth said. "Do we love that side of our heritage as well? Absolutely. I mean, it's a part of who we are, but we're here, and that's how we live. So, we do what we need to do. We work."
Beth said the family has spent years trying to resolve Raúl's immigration status and had recently begun working with a new attorney.
"Over the years, we have tried to do what we can. I feel like, maybe I don't know if it's miscommunication or what it has been, but it has never been able to happen so far. Now we finally had a spot where we thought we were going to be able to go further, and we were just starting that process with another attorney, and we really had hope for that one," she said.
She added that the family was recently contacted to move forward with the process.
"It was just last week that we got the email to start working with them after our initial consultation at the end of last year, but then the holidays hit," she said.
Beth said the family remains hopeful.
"Our hope is that we can get him home with us and continue to work on doing things the right way, like we have been trying to do all these years, because even though we have met with attorneys, we've also, I believe, done everything right. He pays taxes. He works hard. We go out and do things in the community to help the community," she said.
Gino, Beth, and Dante Tapia.
She said the detention has taken a toll on the family.
"We are trying to do our best to get through this difficult situation. My son was in the car when it happened. It was a very traumatic experience," Beth said. "He does a lot around the home that he's not here to do. He helps out with the family. It's scary, very, very scary, and we need him home."
Beth said she has been able to speak with Raúl by phone.
"He's scared," she said. "[He says] that he needs money for medication because he doesn't feel good. I've called and asked them to get him medication, and they say different things that I have to do or that they're going to do, and I try and do those things, [but] when I talk to them after, they don't seem to be happening."
Community and civil rights organizations also reacted to the detention.
In a statement to CoastTV News, Bryant García, executive director of La Esperanza, said, "La Esperanza is deeply concerned that a member of our community was violently taken without a warrant or clear lawful reason. This individual was not a threat or a criminal and his constitutional rights and due process should have been respected. This type of enforcement should concern every person as it erodes every person's constitutional and civil rights. It unfortunately mirrors trends we have seen around the country and know are happening in Delaware too. We are asking for our elected officials to work with us to ensure that every Delawareans' constitutional and civil rights are not violated."
Helen Salita, campaign manager for the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, said in a statement, "This type of aggressive enforcement is indicative of what we've seen federal agents do across the country, and it's not the first time we've seen it in Delaware. The story from Mr. Tapia's family raises significant concerns about the use of warrantless stops, racial profiling, and dangerous police tactics. The hostile and unpredictable way ICE has been operating, including in our local communities, is a large part of why we need clear guidance and legislative protections from Delaware leadership. This disregard for the law and civil liberties of the people in Delaware cannot become an accepted norm. Our immigration system is broken. Rather than providing a clear pathway towards citizenship for the many immigrants who have lived and worked in our community for years, the federal government is instead spending taxpayer dollars to terrorize people, abduct loved ones, and split families apart. We need compassionate and sensible immigration reform to help put an end to horrifying stories like these."
CoastTV News also reached out to Gov. Matt Meyer's office for comment and had not heard back.
According to the ICE detainee locator, Raúl is now in a detention center in Philadelphia. His family says he is expected to be transferred to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, and is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge later in February.
"I just need them home. We all need them home, and not even just us, but, all the people out there that have been supporting us and that know him and that can't even believe that this is happening to our family," Beth said.
CoastTV News reached out to ICE for comment, but had not received a response.
Dante said this is something he has always worried about.
"A lot of people don't really expect this to happen to people like my dad, I guess, because he is an upstanding citizen. He hasn't done any criminal activity. He pays taxes, he works, he supports his family. He helps in the community. He is the last person that you would expect to be detained by ICE, but it happened," Dante said.
The family says it is in the process of hiring an attorney for the case, and a GoFundMe has been started to help cover legal expenses.