An Antioch family is speaking out after they say ICE agents arrested the wrong man during a raid, detaining an innocent resident with no criminal history despite being told multiple times they had the wrong person.
According to a family member, agents were targeting Gerson Manuel Portillo-Escobar, wanted for human trafficking, who lived at 919 on the street. Instead, they ended up arresting Miguel Antonio Blanco, who lived at 939, a few houses away.
The family says ICE agents observed Miguel flee into his home and mistakenly believed he was Portillo-Escobar. From that point, agents repeatedly called out Portillo-Escobar’s name while trying to get inside. Miguel told them over and over that he was not the person they were looking for. Agents had the correct name, address, and even a photo of the actual target, who lived just a few blocks up the street. None of it mattered.
After a standoff that stretched nearly nine hours, agents forced their way through Miguel’s door and took him into custody anyway.
“They had the name, address, and picture of that other person who lived a few blocks up and still didn’t care,” a family member wrote online. “They were told multiple times it wasn’t him.”
Miguel Antonio Blanco has no criminal record. The family says they are now pushing back against any narrative that suggests otherwise, frustrated that some online commentary has painted him as a criminal or implied he was a legitimate target.
Portillo-Escobar, the actual person ICE was seeking, was wanted in connection with human trafficking.
615Nav will continue to follow this story as more details become available.