A worker at Bread Garden Market was apprehended by ICE agents Thursday afternoon. In a video posted online, the officers can be seen dressed in plain clothes and the man, Jorge Elieser Gonzalez Ochoa, was tackled to the ground and handcuffed. He is currently being held in the Linn County Correctional Center.

Eschucha Mi Voz, an immigrant rights group based in Iowa City of which Gonzalez was a member, held a press conference at the pedestrian mall in downtown Iowa City Friday at 11:30 a.m. Ochoa’s mother-in-law, Eva Castro, and partner, Laura Castro, spoke at the event.

“Jorge completely complied with all of his appointments in immigration,” Laura said. “Besides that, they had a monitor on his ankle where they could track him wherever he was going. He wasn’t doing anything wrong. We’ve always been under close supervision of ICE. I don’t understand why they did this.”

Members of Iowa City’s political sphere also spoke at the event, including Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague.

“He was not taken from a dark alley, not from a hidden corner, but in broad daylight in the middle of a grocery store where families — children — were shopping,” Teague said. “This was not routine enforcement. It was aggressive and it was uncalled for,” Teague said.

Teague also said that he was informed that Gonzales needed medical attention and demanded it be provided. The WSS has been unable to independently verify this information.

The politicians urged state representatives Marianette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson to take action against ICE. Rep. Eleanor Levin, who represents House District 89, said that Iowa’s federal representatives are not representing their people.

“I feel powerless when my federal counterparts are not only watching this happen and refusing to speak on behalf of my neighbors and our collective constituents. They want it. They are voting for it. They are fighting to see our community torn apart, and it makes me sick. Representative Miller-Meeks, Representative Hinson, you are not speaking up for your constituents. 
And it’s making me sick,” Levin said.

As reported by KCRG, a spokesperson for Hinson said, “Rep. Hinson supports deporting illegal aliens and will continue working with President Trump to keep Iowa communities safe.”

Hundreds of Iowa City residents attended the event, carrying signs and chanting along with speakers.

Mindy Egeland, who has lived in Iowa City for 50 years and whose kids went to West High, volunteers at a local food bank, and said she was worried for the people she helps.

“I’m here to stand up for our immigrant population,” Edgeland said. “I work as a volunteer at the food bank, and when I heard that this happened, my first thought was fear and sadness for all the families that I helped yesterday.”

Katy Brown was another Iowa City resident who attended the rally. As the founder of Kitty Korner Social Club, she was accompanied by the cat Goose, the club’s director of communications and was holding a sign that read “ICE not welcome here.”

“I was moved as a human being that this sort of thing can happen in our community, it was absolutely disgraceful and terrifying,” Brown said. “And then, I got incredibly angry. More anger than I felt in a long time, and that’s saying a lot, being a human right now. And so I was moved to action, instantly. My first question was: what can we do to help?”

Brown reposted the video of Gonzales’s arrest on her business’s account, which she said got over 60,000 views. She said the decision to advocate for immigrants as a business, and not just as a person, was an easy one.

“It’s not any longer a political conversation,” Brown said. “It’s a human conversation. And if someone doesn’t want to patronize my business because they don’t believe in creating an inclusive, supportive environment for all humans, then I don’t need their money.”

Over 200,000 people have been arrested by ICE this year. At the beginning of the Trump Administration, people with criminal records greatly outnumbered those without one in arrest numbers. But recently, people without criminal records have become the largest group arrested by ICE.

The same day the protest was held, Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts was arrested by ICE during what they called a “targeted enforcement operation.” Since his arrest, he has been placed on leave without pay and had his administrator license revoked. Community response has been mixed, with some praising ICE for their actions, and others expressing outrage.

Thank you @KimReynoldsIA for standing up for our kids and for commonsense!

This is a criminal who even Biden thought should be deported. He shouldn’t be in charge of our kids’ education.https://t.co/fJnUh2Z9ZY

— Ashley Hinson (@hinsonashley) September 29, 2025

This story was originally published on West Side Story on September 30, 2025.