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Detained Don Patron worker faces deportation after asylum denial, wife says

Jun 25, 2026·Location: Weston, WV

Country of origin: Mexico

Detained Don Patron worker faces deportation after asylum denial, wife says
Photo via WDTV

On May 28, 2026, ICE agents detained more than a dozen employees at Don Patron Mexican Restaurant locations in Weston and Bridgeport, West Virginia, including Erick Cumes and Jose Cruz Castro, with families reporting poor detention conditions. On June 25-26, a federal judge ruled that Cumes's case could remain in West Virginia court, but on July 7 an immigration judge denied his asylum claim and ordered him deported. A subsequent habeas corpus ruling granted him a bond hearing, but bond was denied due to his pending deportation order and flight risk. Cumes, held at Moshannon Valley Detention Center in Pennsylvania since his arrest, waived his right to appeal, and his wife said she plans to join him in Guatemala after deportation.

Timeline

Jun 25, 2026—U.S. District Court held habeas corpus petition hearings for detained workers; judge ruled that Erick Cristal Cumes' case would continue in West Virginia federal court
May 28, 2026—ICE agents detained Erick Cristal Cumes and Jose Cruz Castro along with more than a dozen other employees at Don Patron Mexican Restaurant locations in Weston and Bridgeport, West Virginia
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