Saturday, October 11, 2025 - U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported a chef who had been living in the United
States for 36 years and catered events related to the White House during the
administration of former President George W. Bush.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security, wrote in a statement: “Sergio Garcia Silva is a
CRIMINAL. This criminal illegal alien from Mexico was previously removed from
this country in March 2025, over 20 years after a judge issued him a final
order of removal. He chose to ignore our laws and illegally re-enter the
country, a federal felony offense.
This lawbreaker was arrested by Border Patrol and was
convicted for illegal re-entry. Bottom line: Under President Trump and
Secretary Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal
illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”
The case of Garcia—a chef who lived in Waco, Texas, and
first came to the United States in 1989—underscores the concerns raised about
deportations and has rattled the local community.
Garcia entered the U.S. when he was 29 years old and did not
plan to stay long in the country, reported The Waco Bridge. But
he began working at restaurants in Texas and made friends, even meeting his
future wife, Sandra, and ended up overstaying his visa. He would sell ceviche
out of Styrofoam cups at his local soccer field and opened a brick-and-mortar
restaurant in 1995.
During Bush’s presidency, members of the White House press
corps frequently visited his restaurant, and he eventually began catering
events.
They started a family and lived in the U.S. for 36 years
with no issues—he had no criminal record other than a decades-old deportation
order, the Bridge reported. But in March of this year, ICE
agents arrested him at his food truck. Within one day, he had been deported
across to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
He attempted to take a bus to Monterrey, where his wife’s
family lives, but was instead taken to a “compound” and extorted for money to
help him cross the border, he told the publication. He was not able to contact
his family for 36 days. He was apprehended at the border and spent the next
month in a detention center before being flown to Chiapas.
ICE told the publication that he was detained near Laredo
and criminally prosecuted for illegal entry. He was convicted on June 3 and
deported the following day.
Garcia and his wife spent 25 years trying to become U.S.
citizens, hiring several different lawyers over the years, the newspaper
reported. He said his case was mishandled by one lawyer, resulting in a
deportation order in 2002, though it had not been enforced until this year.
His wife has since reunited with him in Mexico, and their
four children remain in the U.S., according to the publication.
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