ICE Arrests Mexican Chef in New Jersey as Family Fears for the Future

• ICE Arrests Mexican Chef in New Jersey
• New Jersey community outraged
• Family pleads for his release

The smell of freshly made tortillas and grilled meat still fills the air at Emilio’s Kitchen, a small Mexican restaurant in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.

The grill remains on, but the chef who brought it to life is no longer there, according to CNN.

On October 19, chef Ruperto Vicens Márquez, 38, originally from Puebla, was arrested by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while on his way to the restaurant.

Since then, he has been held at a detention center in Newark.

ICE Arrests Mexican Chef in New Jersey

Ruperto Vicens Marquez, a restaurant owner and father of three, has been in the country for 18 years, and his work authorization was renewed just a year ago, expiring in 2029.

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— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) October 30, 2025

“That day, he was on his way to work and never arrived,” recalls his brother and business partner, Emilio Vicens Márquez. The two opened Emilio’s Kitchen four years ago, a space that became a meeting point for the Latino community on New Jersey’s coast.

“For a moment, I thought he had been kidnapped. I was waiting for a call from the police or thinking of calling them myself,” he says.

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Hours later, Ruperto Vicens Márquez managed to call to let them know he had been detained.

“He told me he didn’t know how long he’d be able to talk, but he wanted me to know he was in immigration custody,” Emilio recounts.

Family and community impact

A beloved Mexican chef was detained by ICE in New Jersey. His community has come out to support him unconditionally. https://t.co/0LZc2QmxtP

— CNN en Español (@CNNEE) November 11, 2025

At home, the news hit like a devastating blow. “His wife was crushed. She kept saying, ‘What will happen to my children if this happens to me too?’” Emilio says.

Ruperto Vicens Márquez’s wife even considered getting the children’s passports ready to leave the country.

Ruperto’s three children—ages 4, 6, and 8—are U.S. citizens. The two youngest believe their father is on vacation, but the eldest knows the truth.

“She doesn’t want to go to school. She cries a lot and keeps asking for her dad,” Emilio explains.

Despite the anguish, Emilio keeps the restaurant open. He cooks, serves customers, and picks up the kids from school.

“It feels like a house missing one of its strongest beams… if it’s not fixed, sooner or later it will fall apart,” he says sadly.

Immigration debate and legal defense

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that Ruperto is “an illegal alien from Mexico with a prior detention for resisting arrest and a final order of deportation issued by a judge in July.”

It also clarified that “having a work permit does not grant legal status to remain in the United States.”

However, his attorney, Steven Lyons, disputes those claims. He insists that the chef has a valid work permit through 2028 and a pending immigration relief application.

Lyons also noted that the charge mentioned by ICE was dismissed in 2010 and was a municipal infraction, not a criminal offense.

While President Donald Trump’s administration argues that its immigration policy aims to expel “the worst of the worst,” thousands of cases like Ruperto’s reveal a different reality — the detention of immigrants without criminal records who are vital members of their communities.

“Ruperto poses no risk to the community,” Lyons emphasized, expressing confidence that he will obtain conditional release during the bond hearing scheduled for November 13.