Montclair Chef Followed The Rules. ICE Took Him Anyway, Advocates Say

MONTCLAIR, NJ — A few weeks ago, “Chef Leo” was crafting pastries and looking forward to sharing his love for cooking with the Montclair community. Now, he’s being held in a federal immigration detention center in New York – and his family and friends are trying desperately to get him out.

A local nonprofit, Latinos of Montclair, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to fuel the legal defense for Leonardo Argoti, who was reportedly detained by ICE while visiting a shopping center in Buffalo, New York. View the fundraiser online here.

Argoti is the executive pastry chef for Faubourg New Jersey and Bijoux French Pastry in Montclair. The 29-year-old is an Ecuadorian national who migrated to the United States in 2021, Montclair Local reported.

According to the GoFundMe campaign, Argoti has been following the rules as he moves forward with his efforts to establish residency in the U.S.

“Leo is not a danger to anyone,” the campaign says. “He has a pending asylum case and a valid work permit. He did everything the right way — following the legal process, working honestly, and contributing to his community. His family and his employer are devastated, and they have turned to us for help.”

President Donald Trump and members of his administration have insisted that a nationwide crackdown is needed to push back against a “large-scale invasion” of illegal immigration. As part of his campaign platform in 2024, Trump vowed to immediately launch a nationwide immigration crackdown as soon as he was elected.

“Our southern border is overrun by cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics that harm Americans,” Trump declared.

Advocates and family members of ICE detainees have pushed back against the claim that most of them are “criminals,” however.

In April, data research organization Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reported that out of 60,311 people held in ICE detention across the nation, about 70.8 percent had no criminal conviction before being apprehended – and many of those who do were convicted only of minor offenses such as traffic violations.

In May, a data analysis from NJ Advance Media found that more than three in four people detained in the state since January 2025 had no criminal record.

• Related: ICE Arrests NJ Restaurant Owner In Essex County, Reports Say
• Related: NJ Sues Owner Of ICE Prison, Governor Demands Inspections

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.