The Flores family is back together after Jose Flores was released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody Saturday.
A Saturday evening Instagram post from Oakmont Bakery, where Flores works, said Flores was released and reunited with his family. The post thanks various parties, including ICE officials, “who made the decision to release Jose.”
Flores, 47, originally from Nicaragua, was taken into custody the morning of Jan. 29. He was approached by two ICE agents in front of his Oakmont home while buckling his 8-year-old daughter, Lily, into the car for school.
He was being held at Northern Regional Correctional Facility and Jail near Moundsville, W.Va.
ICE did not immediately respond to an inquiry about what led to Flores’ release or his detainment.
“Jose shared that he is profoundly relieved and grateful to God for his freedom. He is currently on his way home and is eager to embrace his wife and daughter after this difficult ordeal,” Flores’ lawyer, Peter Rogers, said in an email.
Rogers said ICE did not provide a specific explanation for either his detention or the decision to release him. The decision to release Flores was made Saturday, Rogers said.
“What we can say is that, in the current environment, we routinely see individuals with no criminal history being taken into custody,” Rogers said.
Flores’ wife, Hariett, also from Nicaragua, previously told TribLive she and her husband have pending asylum applications and five-year work permits. They also both have Real IDs, valid driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers.
Hariett Flores said that neither herself nor her husband will be available for a few days.
The bakery’s Instagram post thanked lawmakers, among others. It credited U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Squirrel Hill; U.S. Rep. Chris DeLuzio, D-Fox Chapel; and state Rep. Joe McAndrew, D-Penn Hills, for their assistance.
“The outcome is both just and fair, and we believe it was unequivocally the right decision,” the bakery’s Instagram post read.
An online fundraiser for the Flores family had raised nearly $100,000 as of Saturday evening.
Marc Serrao, co-owner of Oakmont Bakery, previously told TribLive his business faced harassment on social media and via telephone since Flores was taken into custody. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday evening.
Social media commenters had called for a boycott of the bakery, claiming the business, where Flores works, was to blame for his arrest.
A flood of phone calls to the business made similar claims, labeling the bakery and its employees “fascists” and “Nazis.” It forced the bakery to change its policy when dealing with some callers.
Serrao said that he and the bakery had been working hard to help Flores. A photo posted on social media Saturday shows Serrao and Flores together in a car.
Flores’ detainment prompted outcry this week from residents and Oakmont Council.
“We as borough council demand justification for the arrest and detainment of one of our residents on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026,” Council President Nancy Ride said during a Tuesday meeting.
