{"id":420412,"date":"2025-12-02T22:12:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T22:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/420412\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T22:12:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T22:12:15","slug":"la-playa-taco-shop-owner-detained-by-ice-on-halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/420412\/","title":{"rendered":"La Playa Taco Shop owner detained by ICE on Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN DIEGO \u2013 The owner of a popular Mission Beach Mexican restaurant was seized and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Halloween, prompting his family to establish a fundraiser for him and to work for his release.<\/p>\n

Victor Rodriguez Ocampo Sr., 54, owner of La Playa Taco Shop at 3973 Mission Blvd., was seized on the morning of Oct. 31 just outside his National City home. He is being held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center while his family, including his son Victor Jr., has stepped in to run his business. <\/p>\n

The family has set up an\u00a0online fundraiser<\/a> to help pay\u00a0for their dad\u2019s legal expenses and keep his business functioning in his absence.<\/p>\n

The GoFundMe has raised $14,845 of its original $16,000 goal, as well as securing \u201ctons\u201d of sympathetic letters from people who care, according to Victor Rodriguez Jr.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe support has been immense, and we are eternally grateful. It just shows the impact my dad has had on the community,\u201d he said. \u201cI also think it should shine a light on other families who are facing similar predicaments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez Jr. said his dad has been running La Playa, a traditional Mexican taco shop, for about 30 years. He added that the ICE raid took their family completely by surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat really astonished us is we did not have a warning whatsoever,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was no card in the mail or anything. He was getting ready early in the morning to pick up ingredients for the restaurant, and as he was getting into his truck, about four (ICE) cars came in and took him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three hours or so later, Rodriguez Jr. got a call from his dad saying, \u201cThey picked me up. Take care of your mom. I love you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad is a strong family man who has always put others before himself, supporting our family, his employees, and the incredible community he\u2019s built through his small business,\u201d Rodriguez Jr. said, describing his father as the heart and soul behind La Playa Taco Shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cLa Playa Taco Shop has become more than just a place to eat; it\u2019s a gathering spot where he\u2019s welcomed everyone with kindness and generosity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
La Playa Taco Shop at 3973 Mission Blvd. in Mission Beach. (Photo by Dave Schwab\/Beach & Bay Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis sudden and devastating situation has left our family in shock and struggling to keep things together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply worried about his health and safety, and we\u2019re doing everything we can to bring him home,\u201d Rodriguez Jr. added. \u201cThe funds raised will help us fight for his safety and well-being, keep our family and business afloat during this difficult time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re asking for your support, whether it\u2019s a donation or simply sharing our story. Any contribution or share truly means the world to us and brings us one step closer to reuniting our family and keeping my dad\u2019s legacy alive in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that he is concerned about the treatment his father is receiving in the Otay Mesa Detention Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey (feds) dismissed the felony charge for his being here illegally, but now it\u2019s up to ICE whether they want to give him a hearing to fight his case to stay here, or just deport him. That\u2019s where we\u2019re at right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not received a court date or an interview date or anything whatsoever. We\u2019re trying to get in contact with some good lawyers and see if they can help his situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez Jr. said his dad is in the country without legal status, but added most of his family is on the U.S. side of the border. \u201cHe has nothing over there, essentially,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His son is also worried about his father\u2019s treatment and health in detention. His family has been allowed to see him on a limited basis under very strict rules. One of which is that family members of detainees are only allowed to give them one \u201cprofessional\u201d hug or one kiss with no extended hand holding. His father told him he\u2019s being housed in a shared room with eight people.<\/p>\n

Of the quality of the food his dad is being served, his son said: \u201cThe food there is not very good. He told my mom the food there is so bad that the majority of all the detainees threw it away.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cWhen we first saw him, we could tell he\u2019s lost a lot of weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez Jr. is now working a second job to help out his dad. He is also leaving soon to join the Navy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand there needs to be clearly set standards and parameters, but I think each case should be looked at in its own specific manner,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel they\u2019re making unjustified decisions on individuals who aren\u2019t on the same level as criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ NEXT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN DIEGO \u2013 The owner of a popular Mission Beach Mexican restaurant was seized and detained by U.S.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":420413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,66270,12507,5410,196538,22863,196539,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-420412","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-detained","12":"tag-gofundme","13":"tag-ice","14":"tag-la-playa-taco-shop","15":"tag-mission-beach","16":"tag-otay-mesa-detention-center","17":"tag-san-diego","18":"tag-sandiego","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115652274076352645","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}