ICE nab at court
S.I. arrest prompts protest by furious lawyers
FEDERAL immigration officers showed up at Staten Island Criminal Court and apprehended a male defendant suspected of entering the country illegally.
The surprise Tuesday arrest prompted lawyers to protest outside the courthouse, chanting, “ICE free NYC!”
“We already have enough trouble trying to get defendants to come to court,” said Legal Aid staff attorney Gillian Kress.
“We tell them, ‘Don’t be afraid, just make your court dates and everything is going to be fine.’ Then they come and this happens.”
The identity of the man, who was represented by a publicly funded private lawyer, wasn’t released.
ICE reps did not return a request for comment.
The arrest came on the heels of a sweeping six-day metropolitan area raid that netted a total of 225 people.
Among those arrested was Luis Marin-Castro, a 31-yearold Long Island sommelier and wine shop manager.
Marin-Castro was unloading a new shipment outside Wainscott Main Wine & Spirits on April 9 when ICE agents swooped in. The shop’s general manager Chimene Macnaughton said a dumbfounded Marin-Castro was told he was being arrested because he had “no status in this country.” Marin-Castro, who works at the East Hampton hot spot Nick & Toni’s, was awaiting his fate at a detention center in New Mexico. Marin-Castro’s immigration lawyer, Andres Santiago, said he hopes to get the case transferred to New York. The Ecuadoran immigrant remains in “good spirits” and is hopeful he will be reunited with his family, Santiago said.
Macnaughton described Marin-Castro as a master sommelier with “the biggest heart” and an unrivaled work ethic.
“He does the work of two people, standing still,” she said. “He has a brilliant wine mind. He’s one of the brightest minds on Long Island.”
Born in the city of Cuenca, Marin-Castro came to the U.S. with his family when he was 11.
His wife and sisters are U.S. citizens.
“He would lay down his life for anybody,” said Macnaughton. “He’s honest, true, earnest and kind.”
An ICE spokesman said Marin-Castro was detained because he entered the U.S. on an “unknown date, without authorization.”
A GoFundMe page set up to help Marin-Castro’s family pay for legal expenses has already raised more than $57,000.