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Tree-cutting business owner arrested by ICE without warrant, detained six months facing deportation

Jan 26, 2025 · Lyons, IL, Mexico

Tree-cutting business owner arrested by ICE without warrant, detained six months facing deportation

Abel Orozco, a 47-year-old who has lived in suburban Chicago for 30 years and owns a tree-cutting business, was arrested by ICE on January 26 while driving home from picking up tamales for his family. According to his attorney, Orozco has no criminal record and arrived in the U.S. in the late 1990s under a legal work petition, though he was given a removal order in 2004 after visiting his father in Mexico. ICE officers apprehended him without a warrant, searching for his oldest son who shares the same name. Orozco has been detained in Kentucky for nearly six months facing expedited deportation. His family has missed mortgage payments and his younger son struggles to maintain his father's business while his wife fights breast cancer. Orozco is among 22 detainees alleging that immigration agents violated federal law and a 2022 settlement by arresting them without proper warrants or proof of flight risk, with a motion filed challenging the legality of the arrests.

Timeline

Jan 26, 2025ICE agents arrested Orozco without warrant while he was driving home; his son recorded the encounter
Jan 26, 2025Motion filed challenging legality of arrests of Orozco and 21 other detainees alleging violation of federal law and 2022 settlement
2004Abel Orozco given removal order after visiting his father in Mexico
7/2024 - 1/2025Orozco detained in Kentucky for approximately six months facing expedited deportation

Sources

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