DAVIE, Fla. — A South Florida family says their father was detained by immigration authorities during what began as a traffic stop early Tuesday morning — and they have not been able to contact him since.
Jennifer Cuellar and her siblings identified their father as 51-year-old Jose Alberto Cuellar, seen in cellphone video showing ICE agents taking him into custody.
“My dad was a working man, he was going to work,” Jennifer said.
Her brother Justin said he was driving their father’s landscaping truck near Davie and Griffin roads when they were pulled over.
“He got taken right in front of me,” he said.
Local 10 News searched Cuellar’s background and did not find a criminal record.
Justin said the officer “gets behind us, lights up immediately,” telling him their license plate was obstructed.
Before Justin could hand over his license, he said, several other people approached the truck.
“Five other people knocking on my dad’s window,” he said.
According to Justin, the agents asked his father in Spanish whether he had papers, whether he was “legal,” and used the slur “wet back.”
Residents from Broward to Southwest Miami-Dade told Local 10 News they have recently seen increased immigration enforcement near plant nurseries, with agents and the Florida Highway Patrol stopping landscaping trucks.
One man stopped by agents said he voted for President Donald Trump so “criminals” would be deported, not landscapers without records.
Jennifer said the family has not been able to locate her father in any detainee system.
“Our biggest concern is his safety,” she said.
Cuellar, originally from El Salvador, has lived in South Florida for 30 years. His children say he has worked as a landscaper for as long as they can remember, often six days a week.
The family says Cuellar has been trying to legalize his status since the early 2000’s and blame their previous attorney for missing deadlines and not submitting evidence correctly, leading to the loss of his asylum.
“If he wants to continue to fight this … and if he’s tired after years and years, then I’m OK with it,” Jennifer said. “I’m grown now, and I will help him, and I’m with him.”
There is a fundraiser underway to help the Cuellar family pay for an attorney to fight his detention. Click here if you’d like to help.
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