A 26-year-old father who has lived in the United States since childhood was detained by immigration authorities after an agent allegedly posed as a customer at the tire shop where he worked, according to his fiancée.
Christopher Ruiz de Jesus was taken into ICE custody on Saturday while working at TOS Wheels and Tires in Lynwood, Washington.
Video shared online by his fiancée, Jade Gaspar, appears to show a plainclothes officer walking into the business.
Surveillance footage reportedly shows the officer approaching Ruiz de Jesus at the counter while appearing to act as a regular customer.
The man allegedly said his vehicle was having trouble and asked Ruiz de Jesus to come outside to help, Gaspar told FOX 13.
Footage from a camera outside the shop then appeared to show the agent leading Ruiz de Jesus across the parking lot. Several masked officers wearing tactical gear were waiting nearby.
The officer believed to have started the encounter appeared to put his mask back on as Ruiz de Jesus was taken into custody.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the arrest. A DHS spokesperson told the Daily Mail that Ruiz de Jesus entered the United States illegally from Mexico, although the agency said it did not know when or where he crossed the border.
Christopher Ruiz de Jesus, 26, is pictured with his fiancée, Jade Gaspar. Gaspar said he was born in Mexico but has lived in the United States since he was five years old
Surveillance video appeared to show masked ICE agents taking Ruiz de Jesus into custody outside TOS Wheels and Tires in Lynwood, Washington, on October 17
Ruiz de Jesus’s fiancée, Jade Gaspar, said an undercover ICE agent entered the tire shop while he was working and posed as a customer seeking help with car trouble
A DHS spokesperson said Ruiz de Jesus remains in ICE custody as removal proceedings move forward.
Gaspar, who said she has been with Ruiz de Jesus for 12 years, said he had no indication that immigration officers were coming for him.
“You can see innocence in him, like he was simply doing his job. He didn’t know,” Gaspar told the television station.
DHS disputed her account, saying claims that the officers did not identify themselves were “FALSE.”
“Being in detention is a choice,” the spokesperson said, urging people who are in the country illegally to organize their departure through the CBP Home app.
The official added that the US government is offering migrants without legal status a $3,000 payment and a free flight if they voluntarily leave the country.
“We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and preserve the opportunity to return to the United States legally and pursue the American dream. Otherwise, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return,” the official said.
Gaspar said Ruiz de Jesus came to the United States when he was five. She said he worked at the tire shop for six years, eventually becoming its manager, and has no criminal record.
The footage showed the alleged undercover agent approaching Ruiz de Jesus at the counter while posing as a customer. Gaspar said Ruiz de Jesus had been the shop manager for six years
Ruiz de Jesus followed the agent outside to assist with his alleged car issue
An exterior camera showed the agent leading the young father through the parking lot. Ruiz de Jesus was then apprehended by a group of masked ICE agents. The agent who approached him in the store could be seen putting his mask on as the Mexican national was being detained
Ruiz de Jesus and Gaspar have a son who will turn two in December. She says his detainment has been hard on the little boy
He was also the main household provider for her and their soon-to-be two-year-old son, she said.
Gaspar revealed in a GoFundMe campaign that their lease is up at the end of October. She said she and the toddler could soon be without a place to live.
‘We are suffering traumatic change right now,’ she wrote.
‘Our lease is up at the end of the month, we’re looking for a place to live. He was the main income source the was head of the house.’
She is also looking to retain a lawyer to help bring Ruiz de Jesus home.
She added that the situation has been hard on their son, who doesn’t understand when his father will be home.
‘He’s like walking around saying, “Dad, dad!,”‘ Gaspar told FOX 13. ‘That’s so hard.’