ICE: Man detained in East Durham to remain in custody

EAST DURHAM―The man taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers at an East Durham restaurant on Saturday morning had been arrested last week for an alleged incident involving a teenage girl.

An ICE spokesperson identified the man on Monday as Ivan DeJesus Lopez Santiago. He was arrested by ICE Buffalo Fugitive Operations officers assigned to the Malta suboffice outside his place of employment, Angel’s East Café on State Route 145, according to ICE.

“Santiago is an illegal alien from Mexico charged with forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child after he allegedly groped a minor child. The local authorities released the alien before ICE could lodge an immigration detainer,” the spokesperson said.

Santiago was arrested previously in Durham on June 2 by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.

“It is alleged that he told a 14-year-old girl that she looked pretty,” said Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione.

“Shortly thereafter he grabbed her by the arm, pressed his body against hers and began to kiss her neck while touching her buttocks and vagina on the outside of her clothing,” Stanzione said.

Santiago was arraigned on the misdemeanor charges and released on his own recognizance.

However, when someone is processed for a criminal offense, their fingerprints are electronically submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). According to ICE, the FBI automatically sends the fingerprints to the Department of Homeland Security to check against its immigration databases.

“If these checks reveal that an individual is unlawfully present in the United States or otherwise removable, ICE takes enforcement action. The federal government, not the state or local law enforcement agency, determines what immigration enforcement action, if any, is appropriate,” the federal agency reports.

Neither the sheriff’s office nor the district attorney’s office were involved in Saturday’s ICE enforcement and New York State law strictly limits how local police can collaborate with ICE.

Greene County Sheriff Pete Kusminsky said deputies were called to the East Durham restaurant on Saturday morning for a reported harassment complaint but cleared the scene when it was determined to be ICE enforcement.

The Columbia County Sanctuary Movement announced on its Facebook page Saturday morning that ICE officers were at Angel’s East Café, calling it a “raid.” The Hudson-based organization’s rapid response team arrived and “intervened,” the group reported, adding that the owners of the restaurant refused to let ICE agents inside without a judicial warrant.

The Columbia County Sanctuary Movement did not identify Santiago as the man taken into custody but claimed “a community member was coerced to go with [ICE] rather than endanger the lives of patrons, co-workers and his family.”

The Columbia County Sanctuary Movement has not responded to a request for additional information.

But according to ICE, “while officers were attempting to execute the arrest of this alleged child predator, the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement―a group of well-known agitators who frequently try to impede ICE operations―descended upon the location and attempted to aid this criminal alien and shield him from ICE enforcement action.”

“After initially refusing to assist, the property owner convinced the alien to depart the restaurant, and ICE law enforcement arrested him pursuant to a warrant of arrest,” the ICE spokesperson said.

Santiago will remain in ICE custody without bond “because his heinous crime makes his detention mandatory under the Laken Riley Act,” the ICE spokesperson added.

Signed into law by President Donald Trump in January of 2025, the Laken Riley Act requires the federal detention of undocumented immigrants who are accused of certain crimes.

“Harboring illegal aliens is a crime that carries severe penalties. President Trump and Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin have been incredibly clear: there will be no safe spaces for individuals or organizations who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts,” the ICE spokesperson said.