Officials at the Basic Needs food pantry in Cottage Grove on Thursday were still trying to determine the location of a volunteer who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Wednesday afternoon in the organization’s parking lot.
“We don’t know where he is. We don’t know how he’s doing,” said Opey Peñaloga, the organization’s executive director. “We’ve been trying to reach his family. ICE showed up Monday, came back on Tuesday and then arrested him on Wednesday. We knew that they were there, we could see them, and so we were preparing ourselves.”
The man, whom Peñaloga described as “middle-aged and Latino,” has been volunteering at Basic Needs Food Market, located at 8475 E. Point Douglas Road, several times a week since October. The volunteer, a pastor who leads a Spanish-speaking congregation, helps shoppers at Basic Needs and provides translation services for Spanish-speaking customers, Peñaloga said.
The volunteer went on a break around 1 p.m. Wednesday, and “as he was coming back in the doors, they just pulled up out of nowhere,” he said. “They asked him for his documents, and he supplied them with whatever ID he had. … Whatever it was that he did show them wasn’t enough, you know, to satisfy them. They arrested him on the spot, just at the doors of our food market.”
Peñaloga declined to share the volunteer’s name. He said he does not know his immigration status, although he does not believe he is a citizen.
The arrest, which was captured on video, shows the man being loaded in the back of a black SUV in the parking lot.
“It is deeply upsetting,” Peñaloga said. “It has had our volunteers and shoppers on edge, and we have seen a noticeable decrease in shoppers of color. People, as you know, they’re keeping themselves safe at home, which poses the next problem: If they were using our services, they already had food insecurity, and so we’re working with other organizations that are local that can help us do food drops to their homes.”
City officials troubled
Basic Needs shared the news in a statement posted on social media on Wednesday night.
“Basic Needs is deeply troubled by the arrest and detention of one of our valued volunteers by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today,” the statement reads. “We stand firmly with our community during this challenging time. Our commitment to serving all members of our community remains unwavering. We believe in the dignity and worth of every individual, and we will continue to provide support and resources to those who need them. Our doors remain open, and our mission continues. We will not be deterred from serving our community with the same dedication and care that you all expect and deserve.”
The arrest shows that ICE agents are everywhere in the Twin Cities, Peñaloga said, including in the suburbs. “I think people are under this false illusion that the suburbs are safe, but there are just too many ICE agents here,” he said. “They’re just all across the Twin Cities.”
City officials in Cottage Grove said they have heard reports from residents of apparent ICE activity within city limits, but said Cottage Grove police officers “are not notified of federal operations and do not participate in federal immigration enforcement activity.”
Mayor Myron Bailey said Thursday that he was “troubled” to hear about the arrest of the volunteer.
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“While I am unaware of the details surrounding this, I want to vocalize my support for Basic Needs and the incredible work they do as an organization in our community,” Bailey said. “Our staff and I are committed to continuing our communication with Basic Needs and their doors remain open as they continue to serve this community. I am deeply grateful for all that they do.”
Washington County Board Chair Karla Bigham, who represents Cottage Grove, decried the actions of ICE.
Basic Needs “is a community organization where people go to get food,” she said. “He was a volunteer. This is completely unacceptable and egregious. These actions are not making our community safer. They will prohibit residents and citizens from getting essential services, like food, due to fear of being wrongfully detained by ICE. Our community will step up and help our neighbors because that is who we are.”
Volunteers, donations needed
The Basic Needs Food Market is stocked daily with food rescues from local grocers and the South Washington County School District and donations from the public. It is open from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays.
Many clients are seniors, and many are Hispanic, Hmong and East African, according to Peñaloga.
Basic Needs is in need of additional volunteers “to help us keep the food market open,” he said. “We have volunteers who are conflicted about coming in. Some people maybe don’t share that same level of fear, and if they’d like to volunteer, and come on in, that’s what we need.”
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The organization also is putting out a call for donations because “we’ve doubled our food orders, and we have to buy culturally specific food, especially for our East African neighbors,” said Peñaloga, who joined the organization, formerly known as Stone Soup, in 2024. “That’s much more expensive than just general food.”
In addition to the food market, Basic Needs, based in St. Paul Park, runs the Basic Needs Thrift Shop in St. Paul Park.
Peñaloga said organization staff and volunteers are committed to continuing their “important work.”
“We’re continuing to ground our work in the belief that every person deserves access to basic needs and to be treated with humanity regardless of their circumstances,” Peñaloga said. “We all have a job to do, and our job is to get food out to our neighbors in need, and we’re going to keep doing that.”
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