DUBUQUE, Iowa — October 22, 2026

Federal immigration officials have confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested one man in Dubuque earlier this week, although few details about the operation have been released.

ICE’s Midwest office told KCRG-TV9 that officers arrested Carlos Tino Chic, a native of Guatemala, in a Dubuque parking lot on Monday, October 19, 2026. According to ICE, Chic acknowledged that he had reentered the United States illegally through Texas. He has accepted voluntary departure to Guatemala.

No information has been released identifying the parking lot where the arrest occurred, the time of day, whether any other people were detained, or whether Dubuque police officers participated in or assisted with the arrest. The available information also does not indicate that Chic was charged with a separate criminal offense in Dubuque County in connection with the encounter.

Reports and comments circulating on social media this week described possible immigration-enforcement activity at other Dubuque locations. Those additional reports have not been independently confirmed, and the only Dubuque enforcement action publicly identified by ICE as of Thursday, October 22, was Chic’s arrest.

The arrest comes amid broader federal immigration-enforcement activity in Iowa. Dubuque County’s role has previously drawn public attention because Sheriff Joe Kennedy declined to enter the federal 287(g) task-force agreement, under which trained local officers can perform certain immigration-enforcement functions. Kennedy said in May 2025 that his office would continue cooperating with lawful federal requests but did not have the staffing to dedicate deputies to the program. That decision did not prevent ICE from conducting its own federal operations in the county.

Voluntary departure is an immigration outcome that allows a person to leave the United States at his own expense by a specified date rather than be formally removed under an immigration judge’s order. ICE has not announced when Chic will leave the country or where he is currently being held.

This report will be updated if ICE, Dubuque police, or the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office releases additional information.

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