LIBERTY, Mo. -- A federal judge ruled that the February arrests of 11 Liberty restaurant workers by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were unlawful.

On February 7, ICE officers went to the El Potro Mexican Cafe in Liberty with a single warrant but arrested 12 employees.

That restaurant has since closed, and the building is up for lease.

“The court had witnesses and evidence and basically looked at all of the circumstances surrounding the arrests in Liberty and made a finding that, yes, indeed, ICE had violated the terms of the settlement agreement,” said Rekha Sharma-Crawford, KC-based immigration attorney representing the Liberty restaurant workers.

She’s referencing the 2022 Castañon Nava consent decree, which enforces federal limits on ICE officers’ ability to

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