Local advocacy group: Street food vendor arrested in video facing deportation

A street food vendor who was arrested last weekend is now facing deportation after he was released from jail into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a local advocacy group.

Jose Carlos Hernandez Perez, a street food vendor who was shown in Metropolitan Police Department body-camera footage being arrested on Aug. 6 near the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, is now facing charges of battery on a protected person, violation of mobile food vendor regulations and obstructing a public officer.

The 36-year-old was released from the Clark County Detention Center on Aug. 8, according to court records. He was immediately detained by ICE, according to a Make the Road Nevada spokesperson.

“I am shocked and heartbroken because my dad is at risk of being deported. I am mentally and emotionally drained,” Sandra Hernandez, Hernandez Perez’s fourteen-year-old daughter, said in a press release from Make the Road Nevada. “I cry myself to sleep, knowing that my dad is in detention and unable to come home. I want him to come home to me.”

The Nye County Detention Center confirmed that Hernandez Perez has been in custody since Wednesday. ICE could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

Hernandez was previously detained by ICE when he came to the U.S from Mexico as an asylum seeker, according to a petition created by Make the Road Nevada. He is currently awaiting a court date for his immigration status, the group said.

Sen. Edgar Flores, who represents Las Vegas and is also an immigration attorney, is representing Hernandez Perez, according to a letter of support advocating for Hernandez Perez’s release that was posted to the Instagram page of the family’s business. Flores did not immediately respond to a comment Friday.

The letter describes Hernandez Perez as the primary breadwinner for his family who cannot return to his country of origin because of the violent conditions he and his family fled from.

The Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

“Our family is heartbroken ICE took my brother into custody,” Hernandez Perez’s sister Yadira was quoted as saying in the press release. “Our family is asking ICE to please bring my brother home to his daughter and his family.”

Contact Jimmy Romo at jromo@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0350. Follow @jimi_writes on X.