Federal agents walked into Margarita's Mexican Cantina in Syracuse's Armory Square Monday morning and detained two people, according to the restaurant's owner. The business, usually open by 11 a.m., didn't unlock its doors until 3 p.m. that day.
Owner Alejandro Gonzalez told syracuse.com that agents chased someone into the closed restaurant around 9:45 a.m. Gonzalez said the agents did not present a warrant, and he said the restaurant was not the target of a raid. He could not confirm whether the two people detained, or the person initially chased by officers, were employees, and Spectrum News reported that the employment status of the detained people remains unclear.
Video reviewed by Spectrum News shows immigration officials removing two people from inside the restaurant in handcuffs. In that footage, a witness asked a federal agent whether the agents had a judicial warrant. The agent responded, “I don't have to answer any questions from you.”
Conflicting Accounts of How Many Were Arrested
While Gonzalez described two people being detained at the restaurant, a separate account from cnycentral.com said ICE arrested four people during a targeted enforcement operation connected to the restaurant on Monday. That report noted it is not clear if all four individuals were arrested at Margarita's or if some were captured elsewhere. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE arrested four illegal aliens during the targeted enforcement operation.
The four were identified as Ismael Espejo Sarmiento, Jonnathan Castro-Alay, Hector Velsai Vasquez Perez and Natividad Tania Ramirez Vasquez, according to the same outlet's reporting. DHS said all four entered the United States illegally. Espejo Sarmiento is from Mexico and, according to DHS, has a criminal history that includes simple assault and aggravated assault. Castro-Alay is from Ecuador, and Vasquez Perez is from Guatemala; DHS said Ramirez Vasquez came from Guatemala in 2024. A DHS spokesperson said people who obstruct agents will face consequences. Margarita's owner did not respond to Spectrum News's request for comment on the arrests.
Part of a Broader Enforcement Surge Across Upstate New York
The Syracuse incident lands amid a sharp rise in immigration enforcement across the region. An analysis by Investigative Post found that more than 2,900 migrants were arrested across upstate New York's 48 counties this year through Aug. 5, with more than half of those arrests occurring between May 1 and Aug. 5 alone. Of those arrested, 75 percent had no criminal record and half had active immigration cases, the analysis found. Nearly half of those arrested across upstate this year have been deported, voluntarily or otherwise, per the same analysis.
Within that count, Syracuse has seen comparatively fewer arrests than its neighbors: almost 200, compared with 515 in Buffalo and nearly 350 in Rochester, according to Investigative Post's figures. A separate ICE data release cited by the outlet counted 436 arrests in Syracuse since Donald Trump returned to office, versus more than 1,100 in Buffalo and 631 in Rochester. Nationally, the agency increased its arrest target to 2,000 per day, according to dailyorange.com.
Enforcement Has Reached Farms and Restaurants Alike
Immigrant-rights advocates have described a similar pattern of escalation in western New York and the Finger Lakes, where five advocates told New York Focus that ICE and Border Patrol enforcement has increased since late May. Since mid-June, agents arrested at least six people near the Sungrow tomato greenhouse and packing plant in Ontario, New York, with the most recent arrest there occurring July 8, when Border Patrol agents followed two cars of workers to a motel and arrested a Venezuelan man, per the same report.
The restaurant industry has felt similar pressure elsewhere. In New Jersey, chefs and owners said immigrant employees have been afraid to come to work amid ICE raids, according to nj.com. In Syracuse, Margarita's reopened its doors by mid-afternoon Monday, but questions about who was detained, where they are now, and whether agents had legal authority to enter remain unresolved.
