ICE smashes truck windows, detains Des Moines landscaper
Sep 9, 2025·Location: Des Moines, IA

Juan Lopez, a landscaper who had lived and worked in Des Moines for nearly four decades, was pulled over by five unmarked ICE vehicles while driving to work at Iowa Irrigation in Huxley. Agents smashed his truck's windows and removed him from the vehicle while he was on the phone with his partner, Laura Becerra, the mother of his seven children. Lopez is being held at the Polk County Jail under an ICE detainer, one of six Iowa county jails that holds ICE detainees. His daughter, Tiffany Lopez, said the family was "furious" over how he was detained, and advocacy group Escucha Mi Voz Iowa is demanding his release.
Sources
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