ICE Wine: Wineries react and wait as ICE cracks down

Moises Sotelo has fallen out of the headlines. The popular vineyard manager who had worked in Oregon’s Willamette Valley since 1994 was arrested by ICE agents on June 12 in Newberg, Oregon, as he was on his way to work. His family, friends and colleagues got the word out and generated media coverage and a GoFundMe to help his family defray expenses. My own piece, “ICE Wine: Arrests Stun Willamette Valley,” ran on June 15 and went as viral as anything I’ve written. Local and Portland media covered the story, as did The Drinks Business, The Daily Beast, and Newsweek. Coverage dropped after June 20, until MSN reported on a vigil held June 25 outside the ICE detention facility in Portland.

For whatever reason, authorities apparently decided to make an example of Moises Sotelo. His detention sent a message to the wine community. And the wine community’s response sent a message back.

I was in the Willamette Valley June 17-20, and spoke to several winery representatives about Sotelo’s case. No one wanted to be on the record, and some gave conflicting details of what they’d heard. Of course, no one wanted to speculate. There was hopeful uncertainty, as President Trump had said the day Sotelo was arrested that farmworkers should not be targeted. The administration then backtracked on that, and arrests continued.

But the public reaction has shown a community ready to support one of its own, even while walking a legal and political tightrope between the politics of today and the realities of the U.S. economy.

Moises Sotelo. Photo from the GoFundMe page, and from his company website.

Here’s what we know, based on news reports and my conversations with contacts in Oregon:

• Sotelo remains in ICE detention in Tacoma, Washington. He was transferred briefly to a facility in Arizona, but then moved back to Tacoma, apparently in response to the public outcry.

• According to the MSN report from June 26, his family is in daily contact with him and are allowed to visit frequently. He remains in good spirits. This differs from media reports of detainee conditions at other ICE facilities. Laurent Montalieu, owner and winemaker of Solena Estate and a family friend helping with legal matters, said Sotelo, who is a chaplain at his local church, has even organized prayer sessions for the other detainees at the Tacoma facility.

• Media reports have not included information on an employee of Sotelo’s vineyard management firm who was arrested previously. That employee remains in detention.

• ICE claimed Sotelo first entered the US illegally in 2006, although on the website for the company he founded last year, Novo Start Vineyard Service, Sotelo says he arrived in this country in 1994.

• ICE also claimed Sotelo had a criminal conviction in Yamhill County for a DUI, but local media quickly reported that Yamhill County has no records of such an offense or conviction.

• The GoFundMe established to help Sotelo’s family with legal and other expenses originally targeted $75,000. As of June 28, it had raised more than $141,000.

• News reports have not been specific about Sotelo’s immigration status, or the status of his three children and five grandchildren. He apparently applied for U.S. permanent residency or citizenship during the Biden administration.

Some perspective: The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, our last major immigration law, granted amnesty for undocumented aliens who had been in this country for a certain time. The trade-off was that employers would from then on be required to verify that any new hires were authorized to work in this country — ie., that they were U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or here on a valid work visa. Enforcement would be more of a paperwork inspection rather than agents showing up at the front door and kitchen staff fleeing out the back.

Of course, it didn’t work out that way. Enforcement of this requirement has been, well, let’s just say “uneven.” The country has nodded and winked at this for decades now. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates about 42 percent of crop workers (not specifically vineyard workers) lack legal status. It’s a simple, if simplistic, argument that since these workers are here without authorization, they are illegal, and therefore criminals. The Trump administration has said it’s prioritizing dangerous criminals in its deportation efforts, but border czar Tom Homan has said any unauthorized workers are subject to deportation if caught, and the White House’s stated target of 3,000 arrests per day has officers prioritizing numbers over public safety. Given ICE’s inaccurate statements justifying Sotelo’s detention, it may not matter.

Wineries are not just holding vigils and hoping for the best. Sotelo and his co-worker were arrested on public streets, and many highly publicized arrests have occurred at federal court buildings where people were attending immigration proceedings as they tried to attain legal status. As of late last week, there apparently had not been any ICE raids in the Willamette Valley on wineries or vineyards, private property where officers can’t enter without warrants. Several winery contacts told me they were posting Private Property and No Trespassing signs, though of course there’s no telling how effective such talismans might be. Wineries are also coaching their employees on how to interact with ICE officers who may show up. The message: Cooperate; don’t be confrontational.

The Willamette Valley Wineries Association has been actively briefing its members on the situation, WVWA spokesperson Emily Petterson told me in an email. WVWA actions include:

• Direct advocacy with elected officials.

• Cross-industry collaboration with other agriculture and hospitality groups.

• Resource sharing in cooperation with the Oregon Wine Board, distributing written materials on how to respond to enforcement activity, including approved talking points and guidance on using respectful and careful language.

• Community forums to keep members and other organizations up to date.

• Opportunities for involvement, including the GoFundMe and other ways to help.

• Safety first: Be careful with details, photos of other people, and be aware of misinformation.

Wineries across the country are facing similar issues, as are other agricultural, hospitality and service communities. And it won’t be over soon. As Montelieu, the family friend helping on Sotelo’s case, said, “The attorneys are leaving us very little hope for his release. It looks like a potentially long journey.”