Longtime Güero cook detained by ICE while driving to work in Portland
May 8, 2026·Location: Tacoma, WA
José 'Poni' Góngora Poot, a cook who worked at Portland restaurant Güero for a decade, was detained by ICE agents on May 8 while driving to work near his home. He was removed from his vehicle and taken into custody. Góngora Poot is being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. A GoFundMe fundraiser was created to support him, raising over $30,000.
Timeline
May 8, 2024—José 'Poni' Góngora Poot detained by ICE agents while driving to work near his home; removed from vehicle and taken into custody
May 8, 2024—Góngora Poot transferred to Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington
May 8, 2024—Güero restaurant posted about detention on Instagram; GoFundMe fundraiser created
Sources
- ICE detains longtime Güero cook who worked at Portland restaurant for a decade - The Portland Tribune
portlandtribune.com·May 13, 2026·archived copy
- ICE detains longtime cook who worked at Portland restaurant for a decade
aol.com·May 13, 2026·archived copy
- Well-known Dallas line cook taken into ICE custody, records show
keranews.org·Dec 4, 2025·archived copy
- Food News: Longtime Güero Cook Detained by ICE - Portland Mercury
portlandmercury.com·May 12, 2026·archived copy
- CourtListener
More incidents in Washington
- Masked ICE agents pull landscaper from work truck in Everett, witness films arrestOct 2, 2026 · Everett, WA
- Man chased down and arrested on I-5 freeway in possible ICE operationOct 1, 2026 · Des Moines, WA
- ICE removes detainees with final removal orders from public locator system, families lose trackSep 30, 2026 · Washington, DC
- Supreme Court Allows Third-Country Deportations to Continue Pending December ArgumentsSep 29, 2026 · Washington, DC
- Supreme Court lets Trump resume deporting migrants to third countriesSep 29, 2026 · Washington, DC
- Father detained by ICE on way to work, leaving pregnant partner and childrenSep 27, 2026 · Seattle, WA