Sotelo was owner and operator of a vineyards services company based in Newberg. (Courtesy photo: GoFundMe)

Family members say Moises Sotelo will be returned to Mexico, a country he left more than 30 years ago

A Newberg man seized by federal immigration authorities in June will be deported to Mexico, family members announced this week.

Moises Sotelo was apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers early in the morning of June 12 after he left his Newberg home on his way to work as owner/operator of a vineyard services business he founded in April 2024.

“With a heavy heart we want to update everyone that Moises is being deported to Mexico this week,” a family friend posted July 16 on the GoFundMe site begun soon after the man was seized in June. “The Sotelo family is still working on ways to attempt to bring him home, but at the moment, his case is closed.”

The GoFundMe effort has raised nearly $154,000 to secure legal representation and pay fees in the effort to free Sotelo, a volunteer chaplain at Newberg’s St. Michael’s Catholic Church and an award-winning member of the region’s wine industry.

“Thank you to everyone who was immensely generous with their outpouring of support and donations during this difficult time,” the post said. “These funds will continue to support the Sotelo family as they exhaust every avenue to bring Moises home and sustain the family during this difficult transition.”

After Sotelo, 54, was apprehended in June, he was moved around the western United States to a number of holding facilities, including the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington.

Man moved back and forth to different ICE facilities

“Over the past 72 hours, Moises was transferred from the Tacoma facility to an Arizona facility and then back to Tacoma, where he currently is held as of this update,” a family member posted on June 20, adding that the targeted fundraising goal had been raised to $175,000 to pay for legal representation in three states, as well as travel costs for family members.

ICE’s actions are at the behest of the Trump administration, which has ordered an increase in its immigration enforcement across the nation over the past several months. ICE has a local field office in south Portland, a location that has seen repeated protests over the past month over the agency’s actions across the country.

Court records don’t back up ICE’s claims

An ICE spokesperson said in June that Sotelo was arrested as part of a routine sweep of suspected illegal immigrants. The agency contended that Sotelo had entered the country illegally in 2006 after being convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol in 1997 and deported. However, a search of the state’s online court database, which lists cases back more than four decades, found that Sotelo had not been arrested or charged with DUII at any point since migrating to Oregon from Mexico in 1994.

Sotelo’s family members and others were appreciative for the support the man has received since being taken into custody.

“Knowing that the community was behind the Sotelo Family during this time means more than we could put into words,” a post on the GoFundMe account  said. “Moises continues to be deeply touched by the immense support and awareness that his situation has garnered from his neighbors, industry connections, and people across the country.”