Podcast Summary: Reveal – "Taken by ICE"
Date: February 14, 2026
Host: Al Letson
Producers: The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

Overview

"Taken by ICE" takes listeners deep into the lived realities of families, workers, and entire communities swept up in the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. Through three interwoven stories—two Salvadoran brothers deported before a high school graduation, a Boston restaurateur left reeling when her brother is detained, and a Los Angeles reporter chronicling raids in real-time—the episode exposes not just individual hardship, but systemic trauma and evolving resistance. Reveal’s empathetic, detailed reporting turns numbers into faces and statistics into heartbreak.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Deportations Amid Routine Life: The Trejo Lopez Brothers' Story ([03:36]–[18:18])

• Background: Josue and Jose Trejo Lopez fled El Salvador’s violence in 2016 with their mother, settled in suburban Atlanta, and became part of American life, excelling at school after overcoming a language barrier.
• Struggles with Immigration System:
  • The family’s asylum claim was denied, but they continued to comply with ICE check-ins, believing it was the right thing to do. ([07:56])
  • As they attempted to adjust status through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, changing ICE priorities meant even law-abiding, in-progress applicants were targeted.
• The Arrest:
  • At a routine Manhattan ICE check-in, both brothers were detained without even a chance to hug their mom goodbye. ([12:35])
  • Josue recalls, “I felt like a criminal, just like Jose and Josue. More than half of all people arrested by ICE in New York City...had no criminal record.” ([12:10])
• Consequences:
  • Deported to El Salvador, the brothers watch Josue’s high school graduation live on YouTube, separated from their family and uncertain about any future. ([15:51])
  • Jose: “Being separated from our family, it is actually one of the biggest trauma that we have right now...who is going to be supporting us?” ([17:31])
• Update: Both brothers remain in San Salvador, struggling to adjust.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “We were always together... like best friends. If I buy a pair of shoes and he doesn’t buy one, I don’t buy mine because ... I feel bad.” – Jose Trejo Lopez ([05:04])
• “They didn’t let us say at least bye to our mom, not to our little brother.” – Jose ([12:35])
• Audio of Josue’s virtual graduation, his name called even as he sobs on his brother's stomach in exile. ([15:28]–[16:18])

2. Business and Family Torn Apart: Cecilia and Paul Lazotte ([18:58]–[31:22])

• Cecilia’s Restaurant:
  • Suya Joint, a beloved Nigerian restaurant in Boston, is run by Cecilia and her brother Paul, who manage both operations and family support.
  • Social media post: “Help us bring Paul home. Being forced apart like this is tearing through the heart of our home and community.” ([20:11])
• Paul’s Detention:
  • Picked up by ICE on his way to church despite an ongoing, legally valid asylum case and authorization to work. ([22:03])
  • Paul’s backstory: Fled Nigeria after being kidnapped by Boko Haram as a crime reporter. The family sold property to save him. ([23:05]–[24:15])
  • Cecilia: “I just feel like here’s another second kidnapping.” ([24:15])
• Aftermath:
  • Costs pile up: Legal expenses, rent, and bills now burden Cecilia. She confides, “It’s becoming almost like it’s not sustainable for me to just keep operating the way I’m operating. Like, I did not include my brother being picked up by ICE in my business plan.” ([19:10], repeated [27:31])
  • Mental health toll: “The award-winning chef has lost her appetite...just little nibbles, like cat.” ([27:53])
  • Community support: GoFundMe raised $32,000. Customers send supportive notes. ([29:05])
• Update: After more than three months in detention, Paul is granted asylum and released, but his green card status remains threatened by a federal review “pause” affecting Nigeria. ([31:16])

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “There’s absolutely not a playbook. You wake up one day...and then within a twinkle of an eye, it’s almost like, where do I throw up? Like, it’s that bad.” – Cecilia ([22:52])
• “The guy came out and he’s like, okay, you know what? This is not it. And he’s been like, in therapy, he has done so much...” – Cecilia on Paul’s redemption efforts ([25:55])
• “Me, the owner, is breaking in…” – Cecilia, overwhelmed by loss and responsibility ([29:31])
• “In America...I just feel like here’s another second kidnapping.” – Cecilia ([24:15])

3. Community Surveillance and Advocacy in Los Angeles ([32:00]–[47:51])

• Escalation of ICE Activity:
  • Raids have become militarized, with masked agents arresting people—including US citizens—at public places like Home Depot and fast food outlets. ([33:35], [34:08])
  • National media moved on, but ICE presence and arrests in LA continue unabated. Memo Torres: “Just because the focus shifts, it doesn’t mean things go back to normal.” ([34:36])
• LA Taco’s Response:
  • Memo Torres and LA Taco organize a real-time alert system via social media, group chats, and in-person community patrols to monitor, document, and warn about ICE raids. ([40:06])
  • Memo: “They (community watch) are just folks...their local Home Depots, car washes, street corners, their residential neighborhoods, their school drop offs... staying on the lookout for border patrols.” ([41:01])
  • Over 5,000 verified videos have been collected, aiding recognition of repeat ICE agents. ([41:43]–[42:07])
  • Resistance leads to heightened targeting of activists and community observers by ICE. Memo: “They started going after community watchers a lot.” ([38:24]–[39:55])
• Policy and Accountability Efforts:
  • Memo testifies at LA City Council, calling out leaders for inaction: “The people. It’s our rapid responders...They are effective, but they need support.” ([43:20])
  • Some councilmembers respond, though others cite personal risk: “I just want you to know that I am doing something, but I’m not doing it publicly... I’m afraid for my life.” ([45:01])
  • The city later bans ICE from staging on city property and requires evidence collection during raids, though legal challenges hinder broader reforms. ([48:01])
• Emotional Toll and Systemized Resistance:
  • Memo summarizes: “It’s sadly become a part of daily life now.” ([47:51])

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “If we don’t go out to work, we either get kicked out of our home or we get kicked out of the country. Like, either way, we’re screwed. So we have to get out here and risk it.” – LA worker (relayed by Memo, [37:01])
• “My life has prepared me to be able to handle this moment and grab it by the horns and be able to, you know, fight it like a bullfighter.” – Memo Torres ([46:32])
• “You literally were elected to be the face and representing the voice of people. I didn’t say that to her, but like, how that’s what I went through.” – Memo ([45:39])
• “It was in the heat of the moment...I’m going to call you guys out. Like, you know, what the hell are you guys doing?” – Memo, at City Council ([44:06])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:36] – Beginning of the Trejo Lopez brothers’ story and journey from El Salvador.
• [12:10] – Data and broader context on ICE arrests of non-criminal immigrants.
• [16:18] – Post-deportation uncertainty and separation trauma.
• [19:10] – Cecilia Lazotte on her brother Paul's ICE detention’s impact.
• [23:05] – Paul’s backstory: Boko Haram kidnapping and flight to the US.
• [27:31] – “Not sustainable…”: impact on Cecilia’s restaurant and life.
• [31:16] – Paul is granted asylum and released from ICE detention.
• [33:35] – Memo Torres and LA Taco’s documentation of ICE raids in Los Angeles.
• [40:06] – Detailed explanation of LA’s community surveillance network.
• [43:20] – Memo’s testimony at LA City Council.
• [47:51] – The routinization of raids and community response.

Tone & Language

The episode maintains a tone of empathetic outrage, resilience, and persistent inquiry. Reveal’s team foregrounds individual voices—often emotional, raw, and direct—while weaving them into a larger narrative about policy, power, and civil society’s role in documenting and resisting harm.

Memorable Moments & Quotes (with timestamps)

• “I felt like a criminal...more than half of all people arrested by ICE in New York City...had no criminal record.” – Jose Trejo Lopez ([12:10])
• “Help us bring Paul home...being forced apart like this is tearing through the heart of our home and community.” – Cecilia Lazotte, Instagram post ([20:11])
• “Here’s another second kidnapping.” – Cecilia on Paul’s ICE detention ([24:15])
• “If we don’t go out to work, we either get kicked out of our home or we get kicked out of the country...we have to get out here and risk it.” – Memo Torres reporting LA immigrant worker ([37:01])
• “It’s our rapid responders...they are effective, but they need support.” – Memo Torres, LA City Council ([43:20])

Conclusion

"Taken by ICE" is a powerful, deeply reported investigation into the human cost of a policy shift—it exposes how everyday routines become perilous, shows the unseen work of family and community to resist and adapt, and asks hard questions of those in power. Through immersive storytelling, the episode puts humanity and solidarity at the center of the immigration debate, refusing to let listeners look away.