Owner of Lake Street restaurant searched by federal agents in June pleads guilty in immigration case

The primary owner of a Twin Cities Mexican restaurant searched by federal agents in June has pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering the United States after having been removed.

Francisco Estrada-Deltaro, owner of Las Cuatro Milpas restaurants in Minneapolis and Bloomington, entered a plea Wednesday to one count of re-entry of a removed alien with a prior felony in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota after he was deported three times.

“Guilty, sir,” Estrada-Deltaro told U.S. District Judge David Doty in a Minneapolis federal courtroom. Estrada-Deltaro has been in federal custody in the Sherburne County jail since he was charged July 18. Before that, he was held in the Freeborn County jail following the June 3 raid on his restaurant.

Estrada-Deltaro’s restaurant along Lake Street was the subject of one of eight searches around the Twin Cities by federal agents as part of a larger investigation into a “transnational criminal organization” suspected of drug crimes, human trafficking and money laundering. The raids followed the discovery of 900 pounds of meth tucked into a Burnsville storage unit. No criminal charges have been filed in connection with those searches.

The spectacle of armed agents descending on the busy thoroughfare prompted protesters to go to the restaurant under the impression an immigration raid was underway. The allegations about the broader investigation were shared in an indictment against one of the protesters, Isabel Lopez, who was arrested days later in connection with the clash between citizens and investigators.

Estrada-Deltaro was later arrested at his home in connection with the illegal immigration charge.

Estrada-Deltaro was born in the Mexican state of Zacatecas and arrived in Minnesota in 2000, according to Twin Cities magazine Heavy Table. An extensive criminal history is detailed by federal prosecutors in his court filings, including a 2022 felony conviction for “threats of violence,” another for fleeing officers more than 20 years ago and several driving-related offenses.

Doty scheduled Estrada-Deltaro’s sentencing for two weeks out to pull together what’s known as a pre-sentence investigation report given to a judge before handing down penalties. The U.S. Attorney’s Office called the fast-tracked timeline insufficient because of the numerous aliases and dates of birth given by Estrada-Deltaro, making it difficult to investigate the full scope of his crimes to determine proper sentencing guidelines.

“This is more than just a simple re-entry case,” special assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Trosen wrote in a letter before Wednesday’s hearing.

Doty told prosecutors to inform the court if such a problem arises during the presentence investigation.