Man Wanted by ICE Suddenly Grabs Child in Waffle House

A man wanted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was arrested in Tennessee after suddenly grabbing a child in a Waffle House.

On Tuesday, WSMV in Nashville reported that the arrest happened on Sunday at a Waffle House in the city.

According to WSMV, officers with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department were called to the Waffle House on Nolensville Pike at about 9:30 p.m. local time. An affidavit obtained by WSMV said the man, identified as Adelin Sepa, walked into the restaurant and started to act in a disorderly fashion, as he grabbed chairs and yelled. The man also threw the chairs.

As the man continued to act disorderly, he attempted to grab a child and "take him," the affidavit said, according to WSMV. The man was stopped by the child's mother and her husband. WSMV reported that the mother's husband pushed the man away from the child and restaurant employees yelled at the man to leave.

The man was later arrested by Nashville police officers and remains jailed on a $78,000 bond. According to WSMV, Sepa has holds from ICE and for domestic violence.

According to records reviewed by Newsweek, Sepa was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and attempted especially aggravated kidnapping for a child under the age of 13. The records also show that Sepa has been arrested numerous times over the past several years for charges including aggravated stalking in 2023, assault in 2022 and criminal trespassing in 2021.

Newsweek reached out to ICE and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department via email for comment. It is not clear why Sepa had an ICE hold, but holds are placed for a variety of reasons relating to immigration.

According to the Stern Law firm in Georgia, an ICE hold is a request from the agency "to a local jail asking them to hold the person until they have an opportunity to take a look to see if they are interested in detaining them for deportation."

"An 'ICE Hold' doesn't mean that the person will be deported, and it doesn't mean the person will be taken into custody. It is simply an opportunity for ICE to take a look a closer look and make a decision about whether deportation proceedings will start or not," the law firm said.

The arrest came amid ongoing conversation about the security of the U.S.-Mexico border and the increase of illegal migrant crossings. Last month, Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela, was arrested in connection with the killing of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student in Georgia.

Many Republicans have repeatedly called on President Joe Biden to take executive action to secure the border and to respond to incidents like Riley's death. Former President Donald Trump warned of what he called "migrant crime."

"A new category of crime is developing in New York City, and America itself, and it is bigger and more violent than anything seen in decades...It's called BIDEN MIGRANT CRIME, and it will be really dangerous and BAD. Good luck, everyone, you'll need it!" Trump wrote in a TruthSocial post last month.