ICE has arrested Oak Cliff bakery owner Manuel Tellez for deportation nearly three years after he pleaded guilty to killing a man but avoided prison time. NBC 5’s Alicia Barrera has the story.
He was found guilty of killing a man but received no prison time. Now, he is facing possible deportation.
Manuel Téllez, a 48-year-old man originally from Mexico, is well-known in North Texas for his Oak Cliff bakery Maroches and for the stabbing and burning of a man in 2022.
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WATCH HEREOn March 4, Téllez was once again in handcuffs. However, this time, he was arrested by ICE Dallas officials.
In a press release published online, ICE said, “ICE prioritized Téllez for arrest after identifying him as removable following his… arrest for murder.”
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SIGN UP According to the Dallas Police Department, officers responded to 1330 Kings Highway for a call regarding a body in the alleyway shortly after 9 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2022. The victim was later identified as Anthony Moreno, a 52-year-old artist.
Téllez was arrested by Dallas Police on April 7 and charged with homicide.
On June 5, 2023, Téllez pled and was found guilty of the lesser offense of manslaughter and sentenced to 8 years deferred probation.
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However, as a noncitizen, Téllez now faces other penalties. According to an ICE spokesperson, Téllez is a permanent resident.
According to an ICE spokesperson, “Manuel Téllez entered the United States as a non-immigrant visa holder July 25, 1994, with permission to remain in the U.S. for a limited period not to exceed 6 months. Téllez applied to register for permanent residence state March 4, 2019, that was approved by U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services,” a spokesperson with ICE said.
Permanent residents are considered to have a high level of protection against removal proceedings.
“They have done their due diligence, paid their fees, and become the second highest status you could be in this country, other than a citizen, which is a permanent resident,” Raymond Hindieh with Hindieh Law said. Hindieh, is not connected to the case however has an extensive experience as a criminal immigration attorney in Dallas. “People that have been a permanent resident five years or more, typically, only very serious criminal convictions can put them into removal proceedings and strip them of their green cards.”
In a statement, Josh Johnson, the acting field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Dallas described Téllez as an “egregious offender” and “high-priority target”.
Shortly after his arrest by ICE, Téllez was served a notice to appear before an immigration judge.
“They may offer him a voluntary departure right away in order to get him to be removed from the country immediately and save the government time and money in putting him into removal proceedings,” Hindieh said.
However, Téllez could refuse voluntary deportation.
“They will then be taken to an ICE detention facility for the long term and it could take months for them to get a scheduled immigration court date and be seen by an immigration judge,” Hindieh said.
And while ICE has not clarified why Téllez was arrested 20 months after his conviction, Hindieh said it could likely be due to how cases are tracked.
“The fact that when people that are non-citizens are sentenced to probation, under the Biden administration, they were not checking in on people that were on probation,” Hindieh said. “Now it appears that ICE is monitoring people that are on probation and it looks like they're trying to show up to probation appointments and intercept them there and put them into deportation proceedings.”
It's unclear what option Téllez has chosen however, the Mexican Consulate in Dallas confirmed to NBC 5 that Téllez has not requested their assistance.
