Jeremy le fou (@leftyknowitall.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy)

Fully Booked at DMPL: Tantalizing Time-Benders Agents arrest Jorge Elieser Gonzalez Ochoa, at his workplace in downtown Iowa City, Bread Garden Market, around 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in stills from a video shared by Escucha Mi Voz. Shortly before 11 on Thursday morning, two men who eventually identified themselves as “federal agents” violently seized a worker at Bread Garden Market on the Ped Mall in Iowa City. Neither man was wearing a uniform or displaying a badge or identification as they tackled Jorge Elieser González Ochoa, forcing him to the floor. After handcuffing him while one agent held a sparking Taser, the two marched González to the store’s rear entrance, then placed him in an unmarked minivan and drove off. The whole time González was calling out in Spanish, asking for someone to help him. _**Your charitable gifts** support freely accessible, independent reporting on Iowa news, culture and events._ Donate Now Members of Escucha Mi Voz were able to positively identify one of the two federal agents as Billy Walker, an ICE agent from the ICE field office in Cedar Rapids. The other is also believed to be an ICE agent. _Little Village_ emailed ICE, asking for information about the incident, but did not receive an immediate response. Escucha Mi Voz is a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of and assists immigrants in Iowa. The group put out a written statement following the seizure of González. “Escucha Mi Voz Iowa condemns today’s unprovoked and dangerous ICE action at Bread Garden Market in Iowa City,” the statement said. “In the middle of a busy grocery store, ICE officers — including agent Billy Walker — used excessive force to abduct Jorge Elieser González Ochoa, disrupting business operations and endangering workers and customers alike.” González is a member of Escucha Mi Voz. He and his wife are from Columbia. They arrived in Iowa City late last year, and have since had a baby. González and his family live at the Catholic Worker House in Iowa City, according to the statement. “Jorge and his wife came like all of us, looking for a better life, for opportunities, for a peaceful life,” Alejandra Escobar of Escucha Mi Voz told _Little Village_. “He is the main provider for his family. Now his wife and baby are left behind.” González was preparing to apply for asylum, and at the time he was seized was in ICE’s Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program, in which immigrants remain free while their immigration cases are being resolved. There are more than 180,000 people enrolled in ATD nationwide. As a condition of their release, they must agree to attend regularly scheduled check-ins with ICE. Some are required to keep a tracking device, usually an ankle monitor, on them at all times. Prior to June, only about 24,000 ATD enrollees were required to wear tracking devices, but as the _Washington Post_ reported in late July, on June 9, ICE changed its policy and instructed agents to tag ATD participants with tracking devices “whenever possible.” González was wearing an ankle monitor when he was seized. ICE agents were able to track his whereabouts and knew his location at all times, and decided to take him into custody at Bread Garden, just as the daily lunch rush was about to commence. The seizure of González by the two agents in plainclothes was captured on video by bystanders, one of whom kept shouting for agents to identify themselves, and for someone to call the police. Eventually, one of the two says they are federal agents, but doesn’t identify the agency they work for. The agents in plainclothes first attempt to seize González while he is working in the Bread Garden’s outdoor seating area, and an obviously frightened González, who is shouting for help, retreats inside the market. He’s tackled by both agents and is held down on the floor, and one of the agents kneels on his head as he continues to call for help. As the agents struggle to handcuff González one of them unholsters a Taser and appears to be about to use it on González, while people shout at him not to do it. The Taser is not used. The video ends after González is forced into the unmarked minivan, and the minivan drives away. In its statement, Escucha Mi Voz said ICE’s action was “an attack not only on Jorge and his family, but on our entire community. Immigration enforcement has no place in grocery stores, schools, churches, or neighborhoods. By storming a local business and terrifying customers, ICE trampled on the dignity and safety of Iowa City residents.” The nonprofit called for “Jorge’s immediate release and an end to the violent tactics of ICE that put our communities at risk.” _To suggest an update, [email protected]._ * * * ## Become a Little Village Print Subscriber ##### Are you a print fan? Become a $10/month subscriber and receive the magazine in your mailbox every month. Monthly Annually Monthly Donation amount per month $ Annually Donation amount per year $ As an independent publication, we rely on contributions from readers like you to fund our journalism. 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Make a tax-deductible donation ## More stories from Little Village ### Fully Booked at DMPL: Tantalizing Time-Benders Sep 25, 2025Sep 25, 2025 ### Fully Booked at ICPL: Into the DC Comics-verse Sep 25, 2025Sep 25, 2025 ### Book Review: ‘Dear Marty, We Crapped In Our Nest’ by Art Cullen Sep 25, 2025Sep 25, 2025 ### Album Review: Rahlan Kay — ‘An Ode 2 Hip Hop: The Boom Bap Letters’ Sep 25, 2025Sep 25, 2025 ## Upcoming events ### “Iowa Artists 2025: Ben Millett” Exhibition Jul 26 - Nov 2|Des Moines Art Center ### Paper Engineering in Art, Science, and Education Aug 25 - Dec 19|Main Library Gallery ### Introductory Painting with Oil Sep 8 @ 6:00 pm - Oct 13 @ 8:00 pm|Bluff Strokes Art Center ### Sunday Morning Meditation and Dharma Talk Sep 14 @ 10:00 am - Dec 28 @ 11:00 amSep 12, 2025|Iowa City Zen Center https://littlevillagemag.com/fully-booked-at-dmpl-tantalizing-time-benders/