Evanston Landscaper Jesús Eugenio Castro Detained by ICE at Routine Check-In, Leaving Wife and Two Young Children Behind

A Monday appointment turns into a detention

Jesús Eugenio Castro, a 26-year-old Evanston landscaper, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday during what his family said was a routine check-in appointment. He is now being held at the Christian County Jail in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, according to his family and the ICE Online Detainee Locator System.

Castro’s wife, Aline Hernandez, and their two young children, ages three and five, were present at the ICE Chicago Field Office for the appointment. Hernandez said she received no explanation for her husband’s detainment. Agents allegedly told her and the children they might also face deportation.

“I’m trying to stay positive because I want him to come back to us,” Hernandez said in Spanish. “Like the ladies here who come to help us tell me, I have to prepare for the best, but I also need to brace myself most times for the worst.”

A family’s first ICE check-in

Castro and his family immigrated to the United States from Mexico in December 2022. They came to live with Hernandez’s grandparents, who are longtime Evanston residents, and applied for asylum upon arrival.

Hernandez said the Monday appointment was their first check-in required by ICE since arriving in 2022. She was allowed to leave the field office with the children on the condition that ICE would continue monitoring her under the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. Immigration agents kept her passport and some of the family’s original entry documents.

Castro is due for a court date at Chicago Immigration Court on June 1.

Community mobilizes for legal help

Community organizer Jacqueline Mendoza coordinated with Evanston Latinos and Sanctuary Evanston to launch a fundraiser for an immigration attorney to represent Castro in his legal proceedings. His bond will be paid with assistance from the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund, according to Mendoza.

ICE and its Chicago Field Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment over the weekend.

Jacqueline Mendoza said the detention tactic stands in stark contrast to the overt immigration enforcement Evanston witnessed during Operation Midway Blitz last fall. That campaign saw public clashes between community members and immigration agents. Community leaders said the quieter nature of this detention meant it took longer for residents to learn about the family’s case.

“I was just completely heartbroken that this happened, what felt like right under our noses, and we had to find out from somebody reaching out to somebody reaching out to somebody else,” Jacqueline Mendoza said.

‘We’re not out of the woods’

Alderman Matt Rodgers (8th Ward) said he was among the first local officials to learn about Castro’s case. He noted that distrust and fear remain among Evanston residents considering whether to bring immigration concerns to city officials.

Rodgers emphasized the importance of reporting federal immigration activity to city officials to build awareness and stronger legal cases for immigrants.

Mayor Daniel Biss has remained in touch with community leaders during Castro’s detainment. He called ICE’s actions historically “harmful and wrong” and warned residents to stay vigilant.

“Midway Blitz was a truly brutal and terrifying massive escalation,” Biss said. “Thank god that’s over. But all that’s done is returned us back to a situation that was already wrong.”

A breadwinner separated from his family

Castro is the primary breadwinner for his household. The Mendoza sisters, Jacqueline and her sister Stephanie Mendoza, have helped Hernandez navigate the immigration system and seek community support. Stephanie Mendoza said the process is complicated by language barriers, ICE’s withholding of documents, and Hernandez’s responsibility caring for two young children alone.

Hernandez said she has tried to shield her children from the reality of their father’s detention. She told her daughter that Castro is working.

“My daughter still doesn’t know he’s in that place,” Hernandez said in Spanish. “We’ve told her he’s working, but I feel so bad because she keeps asking me, ‘When is he coming back? Why isn’t he calling? I want to see him already.’”

Her three-year-old reportedly told his grandmother that their father was arrested. The child knew because Castro did not return home with the family after the immigration appointment.

Hernandez described Castro as a kind father who takes the children to Evanston parks to play soccer and buys them vanilla ice cream on weekends. She said Castro grew up in the southwestern Mexican state of Guerrero, where he helped care for her younger brother and always remembered to bring her elote, her favorite snack, after work.

Living in fear since Midway Blitz

Hernandez said the family had already endured a challenging year. Operation Midway Blitz forced them to remain on high alert, constantly checking social media and staying home for safety. Castro had two near encounters with federal agents during that campaign, when immigration enforcement specifically targeted landscapers.

“We never thought that following through with the immigration process the ‘right’ way would end like this,” Hernandez said in Spanish.

This is a developing story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.