BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Federal agents were active in Bloomington last week, conducting immigration enforcement operations that involved agents going door-to-door and detaining individuals across the city.
On Tuesday morning, these operations extended to the Zietlow Justice Center, where federal agents apprehended 36-year-old Martin Cortez-Lopez. His arrest was based on a federal warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
According to authorities, Cortez-Lopez had been previously deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2011 following convictions in Florida for resisting a police officer with violence, possession of a controlled substance, and disorderly public intoxication. His re-entry into the United States was reportedly detected through fingerprints taken and entered into a national database, which alerted ICE officials.
Since his return to the U.S., Cortez-Lopez had been arrested twice in Monroe County within the past year. In February, he was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated and possessing cocaine, and again in June for driving while intoxicated, endangering a person, and possession of cocaine.
Cortez-Lopez was taken into federal custody after a court hearing on Tuesday. He was scheduled to enter a guilty plea under the terms of an agreement with the prosecutor and his public defender.
In addition to Cortez-Lopez, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detained three more men on Wednesday. Neville Mayorga-Rosales of Nicaragua and Manuel Sente-Tevelan of Guatemala, 30, and Jose Gomez-Iras of Nicaragua, 23, were sent to the Hopkins County Jail in Kentucky.
Indiana court records show that Mayorga-Rosales received a traffic citation in January for driving while his license was suspended (not due to a conviction). In April, he paid his citation in full.
Sente-Tevelan faces pending charges in Monroe County for driving while intoxicated and one past conviction in Jackson County for driving under the influence. His booking record does not include the location of his arrest.
A search for federal court records turned up no results.
According to a Hopkins County official, the jail has received several transports from ICE and has become an over 72-hour holding facility for detainees. The jail has also taken Indiana prisoners from Evansville and Jasper.
The federal operations sparked significant discussion on social media, with some users expressing support for the enforcement actions and others voicing fear and concern within the community.
Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thompson stated that the city administration was not notified in advance of these federal immigration enforcement operations.
Mayor Thompson released the following statement:
“Our changes in the federal immigration landscape have created tremendous uncertainty for many of our residents, which reverberates through homes, schools, and hearts. That emotional weight matters deeply to me and shapes how we lead.
“Our changes in the federal immigration landscape have created tremendous uncertainty for many of our residents, which reverberates through homes, schools, and hearts. That emotional weight matters deeply to me and shapes how we lead.
“There are organizations and legal service providers in our community with expertise in immigration law. We strongly encourage residents to contact those groups directly for questions, guidance, and support.
“I recognize the urgency many are feeling. Though our authority is limited in this space, our commitment to supporting our community within the bounds of the law remains constant.”
