{"id":497542,"date":"2026-01-06T23:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T23:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/497542\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T23:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T23:03:09","slug":"la-playa-taco-shop-owner-deported-to-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/497542\/","title":{"rendered":"La Playa Taco Shop owner deported to Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

MISSION BEACH \u2013 The owner of a popular Mexican restaurant in Mission Beach who was seized and detained<\/a> by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Halloween has been deported to Mexico after being held for about two months at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.<\/p>\n

Victor Rodriguez Ocampo Sr., 54, owner of La Playa Taco Shop at 3973 Mission Blvd., was seized early in the morning of Oct. 31 just outside his National City home. His family confirmed on Jan. 6 that he has been deported to Mexico, despite having little or no connection to anyone south of the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n

A clerk at La Playa Taco Shop said the restaurateur\u2019s family was distraught and did not immediately wish to comment on his deportation. His son, Victor Rodriguez Jr., who stepped in to replace his father by working a second job at La Playa during his absence, has established a GoFundMe<\/a> to defray his dad\u2019s legal expenses. <\/p>\n

To date, that fundraiser has raised $18,558 from 247 donations, 93% of the original fundraising goal of $20,000.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez Jr. has since joined the U.S. Navy.<\/p>\n

\u201cVictor Rodriguez Ocampo is the heart and soul behind La Playa Taco Shop in Pacific Beach,\u201d wrote his son in a post on his dad\u2019s GoFundMe page. <\/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. La 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

\u201cThis sudden and devastating situation has left our family in shock and struggling to keep things together. We are deeply worried about his health and safety,\u201d reads the GoFundMe post.<\/p>\n

The GoFundMe adds that funds raised will help fight for his safety and well-being, keep the family and business going, and spread awareness of what has happened to so many people in the United States.<\/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 the post continues.<\/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 Rodriguez Jr. said previously about generous donors to his fundraiser. \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

Rodriguez Jr. noted his family understands that \u201cthere needs to be clearly set standards and parameters\u201d when it comes to immigration policy. But he was quick to add, \u201cEach case should be looked at in its own specific manner. I feel they\u2019re making unjustified decisions on individuals who aren\u2019t on the same level as criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n

To donate to the Rodriguez Ocampa family GoFundMe, visit\u00a0the online fundraiser<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

READ NEXT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MISSION BEACH \u2013 The owner of a popular Mexican restaurant in Mission Beach who was seized and detained…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":420413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,13045,5410,196538,22863,196539,24152,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,223623],"class_list":{"0":"post-497542","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-deportation","12":"tag-ice","13":"tag-la-playa-taco-shop","14":"tag-mission-beach","15":"tag-otay-mesa-detention-center","16":"tag-pacific-beach","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","25":"tag-victor-rodriguez-ocampo-sr"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115850654818610086","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497542","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=497542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497542\/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=497542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}