Stuck in snow, blocking traffic, broken windows. Gonzalo Villegas drives up and down Twin Cities roadways looking for vehicles bearing those signs — clues that drivers have been arrested in recent immigration enforcement.
Villegas stayed up until 3 a.m. Monday towing vehicles throughout Minneapolis and surrounding cities, and returning them for free or at a sharp discount to more than 25 families swept up in the hundreds of immigration arrests in Minnesota this month.
“To see the smile on their face, even through tears, makes me feel good,” he told Sahan Journal. “At least I’m doing something for the cause.”
Towing vehicles is the latest example of how Minnesotans are stepping up to support immigrants. A number of Latino businesses are delivering groceries for free to customers who are too afraid to leave their homes, and dozens to hundreds of civilians regularly show up to monitor and protest enforcement activities.
Villegas works for Leo’s Tow in West St. Paul, which is owned by his brother-in-law, Juan Leon. Both are Latino. Leon started the company two months ago to make some extra income, but over the past two weeks, he’s been focused on helping as many people as he can.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Leon said. “I can’t just let my community down now that I have a chance to offer a service.”
RELATED STORIES
Sebastian Martinez called Leo’s Tow on a chilly Wednesday afternoon to help him move his brother’s car after his brother was detained by immigration officials on his way to work. The red Ford Focus SE was left parked on E. 40th Street near Hiawatha Avenue in south Minneapolis.
“We’re not safe here,” Martinez said, adding that he’s unsure why his brother was detained since he has an authorized work permit.
Galeana’s Towing & Services in Minneapolis, which is operated by different owners, is also helping people who need their loved one’s vehicles returned after an arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Galeana’s Towing & Services has received several calls from people asking for help with cars that were unknowingly impounded by the city.
“We’re all ICE victims. It doesn’t matter who you are — Chinese, Somali, African,” Villegas said. “If you get detained by ICE, we’re going to help you. Just reach out, that’s what we’re here for.”
The cost for towing a vehicle typically ranges between $100 to $400, depending on the distance between where the car was left behind and where it needs to be moved.
Leo’s Tow is offering free towing for residents of West St. Paul, and a $100 discount to people in surrounding areas since it’s still a small company, Leon said.
“We’re just a one truck company,” he said.
Leon said they’ve been raising donations to tow more vehicles for free.
“If our price after $100 is still too much, we’ll work with you,” he said. “I’m not trying to get rich off of this.”
Villegas said they’ve received requests mostly from Latino customers affected by immigration arrests. Sometimes, cars are abandoned on the side of highways and city streets, blocking traffic, he added.
“How dangerous is that?” he asked. “That’s absurd.”
Customers are often panicked and crying when they call, Villegas said, scrambling to find their relatives’ cars before the city impounds it.
“It’s horrible,” he said.
Customers have to pay an impound fee and daily storage fees to get cars out of city impound lots. In Minneapolis, the impound fee includes a standard tow and notification letter, which is $228, and customers are charged an $18 storage fee for every day a car is in the lot. In West St. Paul, the impound fee is $220, and the daily storage fee is $35. Customers also sometimes have to pay for an additional towing fee to get a car home if the car keys were with the ICE detainee when they were arrested, or if the car won’t start.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Dec. 12 that more than 400 people have been arrested since Operation Metro Surge began the first week of December. Federal authorities have not said how long the operation will last.
“We’re not going to stop tomorrow, we’re not going to stop in a month,” Leon said of his efforts to help people affected by the arrests. “We’re going to keep going until ICE stops.”
Galeana’s Towing & Services is offering free towing to people in Minneapolis and surrounding cities. Jason Arce, the company’s manager, said his parents were born in Mexico, and started the business 15 years ago. They were in their early 30s when they immigrated to the United States in the 1990s in search of a better life, he said.
Arce said he wanted to offer free towing because many immigrants have “always supported” their business. The issue also hits close to home; a close relative was detained by ICE a few months ago, forcing him to leave his car behind on a highway. They helped return the car to his family, Acre said, and want to help other families in similar situations.
“It feels good just helping out, getting their car and bringing it back to them,” he told Sahan Journal. “It’s one less worry that they have to worry about.”
If you need help towing a vehicle left behind by a relative detained by ICE, contact Leo’s Tow at 651-703-4914, or Galeana’s Towing & Services at 612-434-7665.
