Importance Score: 72 / 100 🔴
Oregon Wine Country Rocked by Detention of Vineyard Worker
In the early hours of June 12th, Moises Sotelo, a long-time resident of Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country, was preparing for work when his life took an unexpected turn. According to a colleague’s account, Sotelo was followed by a vehicle as he left his residence and subsequently apprehended by federal immigration agents near St Michael’s Episcopal Church. By day’s end, the respected vineyard worker was in an ICE detention facility, sparking outrage in the local wine community and raising concerns about ICE raids and farmworker apprehensions in the region.
The Arrest
Alondra Sotelo-Garcia, Sotelo’s daughter, recounted to a local news source the distressing scene of her father’s arrest. “He was in chains at his feet,” she noted, describing how his personal effects were confiscated during the detention.
A Pillar of the Oregon Wine Industry
Sotelo’s detention has reverberated throughout the close-knit Oregon wine community. A mainstay of the local industry, he received the Vineyard Excellence Award from the Oregon Wine Board in 2020. In 2024, he launched his own business focused on vineyard maintenance. Now, his family, church, employees, and associated vineyards are left grappling with his sudden absence, as requests for information regarding his detention have been met with silence.
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Local Reaction to ICE Apprehensions
Anthony Van Nice, a vineyard owner who began working with Sotelo in the mid-1990s, expressed his dismay. He lamented the government’s treatment of immigrants, stating, “My concern is about my friends and neighbors who are getting rounded up by Ice.” Van Nice emphasized the vital role of immigrant labor in the country’s development, condemning the “inhumane” treatment of those detained, including lack of information about their whereabouts.
Rising ICE Activity and Farm Labor
Sotelo’s detention coincides with increased ICE enforcement targeting farmworkers in Oregon’s wine country and nationwide. Despite a brief shift in focus away from farms by the Trump administration, this policy was quickly reversed, leading to reports of masked agents conducting workplace raids. The agricultural sector, heavily reliant on undocumented workers, highlights the challenges of enforcing aggressive deportation policies.
Witness Account
Victoria Reader, a vineyard manager employed by Sotelo, recounted a prior incident where another employee was apprehended by masked agents who refused to identify themselves. She detailed how the agents provided no explanation, threatened her for asking questions, and denied her the right to follow their vehicles.
Concerns for the Future
- Reader expressed her concern about protecting her crew.
- She raised questions about the long-term sustainability for human life, business, including the agricultural and wine industry and the country.
Community Impact
Yamhill County Commissioner Bubba King acknowledged the fear spreading through the community due to immigration raids. He said that the apprehension of a large part of the workforce is affecting many different aspects of the community.
Contradictory Information
ICE stated that Sotelo had entered the United States illegally in 2006 and had a DUI conviction, but his family claims he arrived in the early 1990s. The Yamhill County district attorney’s office found no evidence of DUI charges.
The Search for Sotelo
After initially being held in Portland, Sotelo was moved to a processing center in Tacoma, Washington. When Van Nice visited, he learned Sotelo was not there and that ICE claimed no obligation to notify family or attorneys of detainees’ transfers or deportations.
Relocation to Arizona
Later, ICE’s detainee locator revealed that Sotelo had been transferred to a facility in Arizona, without notifying his family or lawyers.
When a Guardian inquiry about whether ICE had no obligation to inform families and attorneys of a detainees status, a spokesperson for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) replied, “that is correct”. Ice did not respond to other questions about the case, including whether officers had a warrant or any documentation of a criminal record for Sotelo.
Community Support
The Sotelo family has received an outpouring of support from the Oregon wine community, illustrated by a GoFundMe campaign that has gathered over $100,000.
Tributes and Remembrance
Reader said that she came to Oregon two years ago to work in the wine industry. Sotelo, who had worked in the area for decades, gave her the opportunity to make it her home.
Van Nice expressed gratitude for the support and said that he and other will continue to fight for Sotelo’s return. He is left wondering about other individuals who are not as well known and who may be detained as well.