Father detained by masked ICE agents who broke van windows during morning drive to work
Mar 19, 2026·Location: Aurora, CO
Country of origin: Guatemala

Raúl Tapia, a Mexican immigrant who has lived in the United States for about 25 years, was detained by ICE agents while driving to work with his son near their home in Georgetown, Delaware. According to his family, three unmarked black trucks surrounded their van at a stop sign, and six masked agents broke the van's windows and forcibly removed Raúl without presenting a warrant. His son Dante said agents questioned him about his birthplace before releasing him and detaining his father. Delaware court records show Raúl has no criminal history, and his wife Beth said the family had recently begun working with a new attorney to resolve his immigration status. He is being held in a detention center in Philadelphia and is expected to be transferred to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, with an immigration hearing scheduled. Community organizations including La Esperanza and the ACLU of Delaware raised concerns about the warrantless stop and tactics used.
Timeline
Sources
- TELL ICE: FREE RAUL!
- fox5sandiego.com
- ICE detains Georgetown father and husband near home while driving to work
- Richmond man to be released from ICE detention after 2 years
San Francisco Chronicle·Feb 18, 2019·archived copy
- ‘Nightmare experience': Georgetown scholar detained by ICE speaks about arrest
nbcwashington.com·Jun 4, 2025·archived copy
- Georgetown researcher released from ICE detention speaks about his arrest
nbcwashington.com·Jun 3, 2025·archived copy
- Georgetown professor detained by ICE: 'I’ve seen lots of injustice'
augustafreepress.com·Apr 11, 2025·archived copy
- Donate to Detained by ICE: Help Raul and His Family, organized by John Talingdan
GoFundMe·Jul 25, 2026·archived copy
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