MILFORD, Mich. – An illegal immigrant who allegedly accosted a 13-year-old girl may soon be deported, thanks to local residents who were outraged when Immigration and Customs Enforcement initially declined to take action.

Milford Police arrested Elias Lopez, 43, on Sunday after he allegedly called out to a 13-year-old girl walking down Main Street in Spanish, then crossed the road to confront her. The teen told police the man repeated asked her to “come with me,” offered her five $20 bills, and tried to grab her arm, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The girl ran to a friend’s home “extremely upset, crying and nearly hyperventilating,” according to the news site.

“Officers who responded to a 9-1-1 call located Lopez in the area and noted he was intoxicated and had urinated on himself. According to a police report, he blew a preliminary breath test of .19 percent – more than twice the .08 percent legal limit for driving in Michigan,” Hometown Life reports.

The girl identified Lopez and when local police discovered he is an illegal immigrant, they contacted ICE, which initially refused to detain him. As a result, Lopez was released with a citation for disorderly conduct.

Milford Police Chief Tom Lindberg told the media he was “extremely disappointed” by the response from ICE. News reports of incident sparked public outrage and “a lot of negative comments,” he said.

The next morning, the Department of Homeland Security contacted Milford police to announce agents were on their way to Milford with an administrative warrant for Lopez, Lindberg said.
“I’m very proud ICE did the right thing,” Lindberg said after agents arrested Lopez shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday at the MiZarape Mexican Restaurant where he worked.

“I think the community will appreciate that (ICE) came out to get him,” the chief said. “We don’t want this person lurking around Milford. I wanted him out of here.”

ICE declined to comment on the case, but Lindberg said Lopez was lodged at the Wayne County Jail awaiting an administrative hearing, and likely will be deported, Hometown Life reports.

He also stressed that no other employees at MiZarape have caused problems in Milford.

“Not a single one,” he said. “I don’t even think we’ve had a call for service from the restaurant.”

A manager at the restaurant claimed to be unaware of his employees’ residency status, and referred the media to a different manager who was not in.

Many local folks who commented online believe there’s more to the story than a single illegal immigrant involved in an isolated incident, and many vowed not to patronize MiZarape, or other restaurants in the area owned by the same company.

“I have a feeling they know damn well whether or not their employees are legal or illegal,” Keith Price posted to Facebook.

“Never going to eat there,” Scott Moore wrote. “Nice hiring illegal aliens.”

“Will ever eat there, as well,” Greg Majewski added. “Would be interested to know if they own any other restaurants. If they hire illegals here, I would bet they do at their other places. There is no way they didn’t know.”

“It looks like they have at least two other locations – Saline and Pontiac,” commenter Cindy Lockwood posted.

Bethany Burpee contends the restaurant is connected to a home in her subdivision, and she’s growing increasingly concerned for her children’s safety.

“It’s ridiculous that our neighborhood board that I’m on called the police months ago about suspicious activity in our neighborhood (police said they couldn’t take action) and almost every day I see this guy and two other Hispanics walk back-and-forth from that restaurant to a house in our sub(division),” Burpee posted.

“The homeowner who is harboring the illegals wouldn’t fess up to us who he was ‘renting’ his home to,” she continued. “So frustrating! I haven’t let my kids go up to the front of our sub the last few months because my gut knew something wasn’t right in that house.”

Lockwood agreed.

“I’ve suspected the same since they moved in,” she wrote in response to Burpee. “There are always four cars in the driveway and more in the garage. I’m very concerned.”