The Atlantic Highlands community is celebrating after a beloved local chef, who had been held in ICE detention since last month, was freed to return home.
Ruperto Vicens Marquez, chef and owner of Emilio’s Kitchen and a father of three from Atlantic Highlands, returned home this week after several weeks spent in ICE detention. Marquez was taken into custody on October 19 during an ICE enforcement operation.
Marquez has lived in the United States legally since he was 18 and held a valid work visa, just renewed last year, at the time of his detainment. Despite this, he was arrested and held at Newark’s Delaney Hall—allowed to appear before a judge after nearly a month in detention. The judge ordered his release on bond, finding that he was wrongfully detained, posed no threat to the community and was not a flight risk.
The incident shook the Atlantic Highlands community. Residents rallied repeatedly outside the Newark detention center and neighbors offered support to the restaurants while Marquez was away. In an interview with ABC7, his brother Emilio, who co-owns Emilio’s Kitchen and a newly opened second location with him, recalled struggling to run the restaurants while his brother was gone.
Marquez’s attorney said he was not the intended target of the ICE operation. He was instead taken into custody, despite having proper documentation on hand, when an individual he was driving with was suspected of immigration violations. His path to naturalized citizenship remains in progress with hearings scheduled for 2028. He has employment authorization from the Department of Homeland Security through 2029.
Atlantic Highlands Mayor Lori Hohenleitner traveled to Delaney Hall to pay Marquez’s $7,000 bond. Community organizers are planning a welcome-home rally to celebrate his return this Saturday.
For now, Marquez will return to work, feeding his community. A statement on the Emilio’s Kitchen website from Marquez reads: “Mother Nature gives everyone a gift. She puts something special in your hands, so then you have to use that special gift. Everyone has something different and mine is serving people and cooking. And I found a town filled with beautiful friendly people to serve, so I am really a very lucky and happy Emilio.”
With ICE raids increasing in New Jersey and across the country as part of President Trump’s immigration crackdown, legal residents such as Marquez risk becoming wrongful targets for deportation.
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
