ICE Abducts Hotel Worker From Hibbing

 ICE has struck again. This Monday they abducted Villamizar Rojas Álvaro de Jesús from the Red Rock Inn & Suites in Hibbing. Villamizar was a Venezuelan immigrant who was loved and embraced by his community.  We urge folks to raise their voices against this, and all of the other ICE abductions that are sweeping the country.  We will post updates here on the fight to free Villamizar. 

Below is a statement issued by Building Mean and Women for a Change, an Iron Range group that knew and worked with Villamizar:   

Justice for Villamizar — Our Brother, Our Fight

 

We come to you today with heavy hearts and deep concern. Villamizar, a Venezuelan member of our local community, is currently in the custody of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He has no criminal record. He is not a threat. He is a husband, a father, and a valued worker in our city. But the threat to his life is very real — and it’s coming from the very system that claims to stand for liberty and justice.

We need you to understand the gravity of this moment.

 

According to recent investigations from The Texas Tribune, ProPublica, The New York Times, Bloomberg, and CBS News, Venezuelan migrants — without any criminal convictions — are being deported to El Salvador, where they are imprisoned in maximum-security facilities. In March 2025 alone, the U.S. deported over 200 Venezuelans, claiming they were part of a gang called “Tren de Aragua.” However, multiple reports confirm that many of those deported had no gang affiliation and no criminal history in the U.S.

 

Instead, they were rounded up, labeled as dangerous, and shipped away to face incarceration in another country — where the U.S. is reportedly paying El Salvador to detain them.

This is not just cruel. It is terrifyingly inhumane.

 

Villamizar’s family is left here, desperate for answers. We do not know if he will be deported or where he will be sent. But based on the current patterns, if he is removed from this country, he could be falsely labeled and imprisoned in a foreign country — despite never having committed a crime.

Let us say it plainly: this is wrong. This is disturbing. And this is not what justice looks like.

Human rights organizations and legal experts are alarmed. The use of the Alien Enemies Act — a law from 1798 — to justify these deportations is deeply controversial. A federal judge in Texas has already ruled this tactic unlawful, but the decision is under appeal. In the meantime, lives like Villamizar’s hang in the balance.

 

We can’t sit this one out.

 

We are calling on every member of our community to raise their voice.

 

Call your U.S. Representative.

Call your U.S. Senator.

Call your Governor.

 

Tell them: We want Villamizar safe. We want his family protected. We want an immediate stop to the deportation and outsourcing of migrants to foreign prisons.

 

This isn’t just about one man. It’s about our shared humanity. It’s about the kind of country we want to live in — and the kind of community we want to be.

 

Villamizar is from Venezuela, but he’s ours now. He’s a part of this community. We will not let him be disappeared in silence.

 

We’re asking you to fight.

To act.

To care.

Because if we don’t stand for Villamizar now — who will stand for us next?

 

In solidarity,

Building Men and Women for a Change