This story was updated to include a statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ENCINITAS — Two Encinitas men working for a landscaping company were detained by federal immigration agents on Friday morning while heading to a worksite near the same intersection where another local man was detained on Wednesday.
Around 9 a.m. on Aug. 22, a group of residents gathered at the intersection of Park Dale Lane and Village Parkway to protest the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Encinitas. Two days earlier, the father of a local elementary student was also detained by federal immigration officers at the same intersection, sparking outrage in the community and leading to an emergency discussion by the City Council.
While standing at the intersection on Friday, protestors saw federal agents pulling over two men in a landscaping truck. A video of the incident taken by a community member showed masked officers pushing one of the men, who was pulling away, to the ground and attempting to chain his legs.
One resident, who asked not to be named, said the officers used excessive force against the man and declined to produce a warrant when requested by community members.
“They slammed him into the ground,” the resident said. “They kept yelling at us to back up … we wanted them to understand that they had families, that they’re community members who provide a service to our community.”
Community members said they were stunned to see ICE officers back in the same area, a block away from Park Dale Lane Elementary School, so soon after the arrest of the man on Wednesday.
“I felt so upset, that they are intruding on our lives and other people’s lives,” said Pilar Romero, who lives two blocks away. She had just picked up her daughter from the train station and was driving home when she saw the chaos. She stopped to see what was happening.
“Everything became a nightmare,” Romero said. “They [the officers] told us, ‘Go away.’ I’m not going to go away; I have my rights.”
The man shown in the video is 28 years old and has been in the United States since he was a baby, according to his family, who have lived in Encinitas for decades. He is the main caretaker and financial breadwinner for his mother, and is one of four siblings, the rest of whom all have papers. He also has a 12-year-old son.
The man was previously protected from deportation under DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), but his status expired after he lost his job and was unable to continue paying an attorney to help him renew it, his family said.
Residents who were at the scene where he was detained called his family from his phone, which had been left in the landscaping truck.
“I couldn’t believe it,” his mother said, speaking through tears. “He had just left the house for work.”
In a statement, Enforcement and Removal Operations San Diego field office director Patrick Divver identified the man as Yohan Diaz. He said Diaz had a criminal history including child cruelty, assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a peace officer, obstruction of a public officer, vandalism, and a DUI.
“When officers moved in to arrest Diaz, they were met with interference from members of the public who unsafely and unnecessarily forced themselves into a law enforcement scene. Diaz violently resisted arrest and continued to become so combative that officers were forced to fully restrain him, including securing his legs, to protect officer safety and the public. Diaz is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” Divver said.
“The second individual, Limber Hernandez-Verudgo, an illegal alien from Mexico who illegally entered the United States in violation of federal law, was also arrested, and is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” Divver said.
Daniel Alfonzo, owner of Meticulous Landscaping and the employer of the two men, said he had just spoken to both of them minutes before they were detained. After they were taken away, he had to come pick up the company truck they had been driving to prevent it from being towed.
“For my employees to just get harassed like that, it just sucks. It’s just discrimination,” he said.
Residents called the Sheriff’s Office to ask for their assistance, but the agents had left by the time deputies arrived.
North Coastal Sheriff’s Station Capt. Shane Watts said if sheriff’s deputies see immigration enforcement taking place in the community, they are unable to obstruct federal officers, but they can ask them to verify who they are.
Watts said the department was unaware of this operation before being contacted by community members.
“The incident that happened today, if we were here, we would have walked up and said, ‘We need to make sure you are who you say you are,’” Watts said to a group of residents following the arrest.
Watts added that the department is focused on providing support to the community, and encouraged residents to file a federal complaint if they think someone’s civil rights are being violated.
Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer shared a statement criticizing the arrests on Friday, noting that it happened close to Park Dale Lane Elementary School.
“Another ICE ambush near an Encinitas school this morning. This doesn’t make us safer,” she said. “We need to come together as local leaders to demand that ICE stay away from schools and churches and require agents to wear clear identification, so our community knows who is using force in our streets.”
Mayor Bruce Ehlers said the news of this second enforcement incident is upsetting.
“It’s absolutely disheartening. It’s alarming,” Ehlers said. “It’s counterproductive to what you would think their goal was. They’re alienating the entirety of Encinitas against their cause.”
