A Texas chef once hired by former President George W. Bush has been deported twice after it was revealed that he had been living in the U.S. illegally for over 30 years.
Sergio Garcia’s food truck had long been a Waco favorite, and he was even called upon by Bush to cater events for the presidential press corps during his two terms.
The former president and First Lady Laura Bush had posed for photos with Garcia, with one signed “with best wishes.”
Sergio Garcia, pictured with Laura and George W. Bush, had long been a beloved figure in Waco. But it was later revealed that the married father of four had originally snuck into the U.S. illegally in 1989, overstaying a tourist visa, and ignored a 2002 deportation order from an immigration judge.
Garcia told the Waco Bridge that he was first apprehended by immigration agents on March 25 and deported to Mexico within 24 hours.
“They asked me if I’m Sergio, and I said, ‘Yeah, I’m Sergio,’” he recalled. “They said, ‘You gotta come with us.’”
Despite this, Garcia crossed back into the U.S. on foot in April, only to be deported again.
“On April 30, Garcia once again showed that he thinks he’s above the law by illegally reentering the U.S. near Laredo, Texas,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told the Waco outlet. “U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested him that same day, and he was criminally prosecuted for illegal entry. On June 3, he was convicted, and deported to Mexico on June 4.”
The sudden removal of such a popular and well-connected chef has left many in the local community stunned.
Garcia and his wife were often seen outside their restaurant, a familiar sight in the community.
“Deportations like Sergio’s — targeting fixtures of the community — make people think, ‘This could be me next, or my favorite place next, or somebody I see every day,’” said Mito Diaz-Espinoza, president of the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
ICE, however, emphasized that Garcia, described as a “twice-deported criminal alien from Mexico,” had illegally entered the U.S. and “was afforded full due process under the law and ordered deported by an immigration judge at great taxpayer expense.”
“In complete defiance of our nation’s system of laws, he fled from authorities and remained an immigration fugitive for more than 23 years,” ICE added, referencing his 2002 deportation order.
Garcia’s wife has joined him in Mexico, and the couple is now trying to return legally. They maintain that they spent years and significant money attempting to obtain legal status before the deportation.
The chef was loading Sergio’s Food Truck when he was approached by a plainclothes man, while another wearing a vest marked “POLICE” watched from a distance, The Waco Bridge reports.
“I wish I could go back to the USA, but it’s not up to me,” Garcia said.
Blake Burleson, a deacon at Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco, said he will deeply miss Garcia’s cooking.
“I thought El Siete Mares was the greatest restaurant in Waco,” Burleson said. “Whenever we had guests in town, we’d always take them there.”
