‘My kids and I are devastated’: ICE agents detain multiple people in St. Joseph County, according to eye witness accounts

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were operating in St. Joseph County beginning Monday, October 26. Watershed Voice independently confirmed their presence in Sturgis, while reports of additional activity elsewhere in the county remain unverified. 

Pablo Santiago Hernández was detained by ICE agents in the parking lot of the Sturgis Walmart Monday afternoon after purchasing lunch during a break from work, his wife Mary Kinney-Santiago told Watershed Voice.

Santiago Hernández began the process of obtaining legal permanent residency in the United States in 2024. He was still working through that process at the time of his detainment. 

According to his wife, his I-130 petition, which establishes eligibility to apply for a green card through a qualifying family relationship, had already been approved. He was awaiting approval of an I-601A waiver, which could allow him to avoid certain restrictions on reentering the United States after traveling abroad for an immigrant visa interview. Because he originally entered the country without going through immigration inspection, he would likely need to travel abroad for a visa interview before obtaining permanent residency. Although his immigration application was moving forward, the pending waiver did not grant him legal status or protect him from deportation. 

Sangitago Hernández and his wife live in Elkhart, Indiana, where they are working to buy a home for their family of 8. Santiago Hernández frequently travels to Sturgis and Kalamazoo for work, and to visit family and friends. 

Later on Monday, Santiago Hernández was brought by federal agents to an ICE Field Office in Grand Rapids. Shortly thereafter, Santiago Hernández was transferred to ICE’s North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan, where he is now. 

Watershed Voice spoke with Kinney Santiago about what happened to her husband. 

“Monday afternoon at approximately 2 p.m. my husband kept calling and I ignored it. Something told me to answer his call,” Kinney Santiago said. 

When she finally answered, her husband told her he had been detained by ICE agents while returning to his car after buying lunch at Walmart. 

“He sat his food in the passenger seat and went to buckle up and put the key in the ignition and ICE swarmed him,” she said. 

Kinney Santiago said she began panicking and asking her husband why he had been detained, but he didn’t know. 

“I don’t know the details, if they were mean, nice, if they pulled him out, if they had him step out himself,” she said. “He seemed to be pretty upset and there was a lot of echoing and talking, and so he didn’t seem comfortable talking a lot.” 

That was the only phone call she received from her husband, who told her he was being taken to Grand Rapids before being transferred to Baldwin, Michigan. 

“I only got that one phone call, and all he told me is he was going to Grand Rapids and he was getting transferred to Baldwin, Michigan, and he gave me his tracking number,” she said, adding that he didn’t get to eat his lunch. 

Santiago Hernández and Kinney Santiago are raising six children together in Elkhart, ranging in age from six months to 18-years-old.

“My kids and I are devastated, especially my little ones that are his,” Kinney Santiago said. 

Santiago Hernández is the biological father of the two youngest children and the stepfather to the other four. 

“They can sense the stress, they are not stupid, and he has played an active part in their lives,” she said. 

Kinney Santiago currently works part-time at 7-Eleven and worries about how she is going to pay her bills without her husband being able to work. She says her husband is a “busy body” who is always working to provide for their family. 

According to Kinney Santiago, her husband had no outstanding criminal arrest warrant at the time of his detention, although he has a prior criminal record. She said a previous warrant had been resolved, but fears his criminal history could jeopardize his efforts to obtain legal permanent residency. 

“His record is what’s going to make us or break us of him getting legal but you have to document all of that with immigration they’re going to fingerprint you and find out anyway,” Kinney Santiago said. “Yeah, he made mistakes when he was younger. I’m sure he regrets it now. He’s in his 40s and has little kids now but we have Americans that commit crimes all the time and get little or nothing… I get it to a certain extent just put immigrants at a higher standard but I don’t know, I just feel like it’s a little absurd and a little too much.” 

Watershed Voice spoke with Sturgis Director of Public Safety, Ryan Banaszak, who confirmed ICE’s presence in the city. Banaszak added that Sturgis police have not participated in ICE’s enforcement operations, and only would if they requested assistance from the department — which they have not done. 

The department did allow ICE to utilize the city’s public safety station for parking and operations, Banaszak said. 

“They are, as their own agency, we don’t have any control over them, so I’m not aware that they’re in town today. But I don’t know for sure,” Banaszak said, regarding whether the agency is continuing operations Wednesday. 

As for whether he was concerned about ICE’s presence amid national controversy over fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents, including the killings of U.S. citizens earlier this year, Banaszak said he was not. 

“Not one bit. All my dealings with Homeland Security Investigation Division and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been very professional, and I have no concerns,” he said. 

Sturgis City Commissioner Aaron Miller told Watershed Voice no information was shared with him or the commission. Miller serves as at-large commissioner, so he represents the entire City of Sturgis. 

Watershed Voice also reached out to Sturgis Mayor Frank Perez for comment, however, did not hear back before publication.  

Additionally, there have been reports of ICE operations in Three Rivers. Watershed Voice spoke with Three Rivers Police Chief Scott Boling about those reports. 

Boling said he believes ICE agents were operating in Three Rivers, although he could not confirm or deny their presence. 

“I believe that there were,” Boling said. “What is believed to be ICE agents were seen in the area…but they didn’t have any contact with us. Nor did we have any interaction with them.”

Local reaction

In a local community Facebook group, Kay Eash Davis, a St. Joseph County resident, is offering to pick up groceries or prescriptions for anyone afraid to leave their homes. Davis added that she is offering rides to Centreville for early voting. 

Davis has also been organizing protests against ICE in Sturgis, which she says have been met with mostly positive reactions from the community. 

“Our only goal is to show solidarity with the Sturgis community affected by the presence of ICE in our town,” Davis said. 

Davis says the protests began Monday evening with just her and a friend standing at the corner of Nottawa and Chicago. Several residents stopped by to show their support, with two young men eventually joining the demonstration. 

“Every time someone approached, we braced for trouble and were pleasantly surprised with support,” Davis said. 

The group gathered again Tuesday evening across from the Walmart where ICE agents had operated the day before, this time drawing ten protestors. Davis said they plan to return to their original downtown location Wednesday evening.

Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.

Alek Haak-Frost is the executive editor and founder of Watershed Voice.