Friendship residents are rallying in support of the owner of the town’s only market who was arrested June 27 by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A petition is being circulated in the town and has garnered more than 200 signatures in the first three days that the papers were available at the store and across the street at the town office. More signatures were being gathered elsewhere.

“We the undersigned want and need Dale Patel home with his family to serve our community and the responsibilities that go with owning Wallace’s Market. This community service cannot be sustained without him,” the petition states.

Through Patel and his wife Hanna’s hard work, they have become a welcome part of the fabric of Friendship, the petitioners stated. The store opens at 4 a.m. to serve lobstermen going out to haul the traps and remains open to 8 p.m. The nearest store, other than Wallace’s Market, is Fales Store in neighboring Cushing, which is 6 miles away.

Friendship has a year-round population of about 1,100 which increases significantly in the summer when seasonal residents arrive.The town’s website notes that when the influx of seasonal residents arrive, the wait at Wallace Market may be a little longer.

The town is the most conservative in Knox County and along the entire Maine coast between New Hampshire and Washington County, voting 62%-32% for President Donald Trump in 2024.

Alden Pickering has worked at the store for four months.

“It’s a tragedy,” Pickering said of the arrest of Patel.

Dhavalkumar (who is known as Dale) Kalidas Patel was seized by four ICE agents at Wallace’s Market. His wife said the agents did not say why he was being taken away in handcuffs.

ICE issued a statement June 29, claiming Patel, a native of India, illegally entered the United States on Nov. 1, 2010, and was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol. ICE claims he was released from custody on March 18, 2011, pending the outcome of his removal proceedings. ICE claims he failed to show up for his immigration hearing and was ordered removed by a Justice Department immigration judge on August 8, 2011.

“Patel will remain in ICE custody until removed from the U.S.,” the agency stated.

A  Gofundme account to assist the family has been created. The account states “Donate to help local family stay together.” The fund had raised $7,805 of $13,000 being sought as of the afternoon of July 2. Forty-eight people have donated. The statement on the fund notes that Hanna is left to run their local store and care for their 2.5-year-old son all on her own.

“The uncertainty and fear are overwhelming, and she is struggling financially as she navigates all that life has thrown at her all at once,” the fundraising effort notes.

The Patels have operated the store since 2024.

Rob Sample, a customer of the store, said he could not understand why such an action was taken.

“We appreciate them,” he said of the Patel family, adding that they work hard to provide a community service by operating the store.

Patel is being held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts. His wife was not informed when he was arrested where he was being taken. Patel was able to have a telephone call later to alert her where he was.

Attorney Audrey Richardson of Greater Boston Legal Services filed a motion for habeas corpus the evening of Patel’s request, meaning he is to be brought to a court in person. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts issued an emergency order hours after he was seized that prohibits Patel from being moved elsewhere.

“To provide a fair opportunity for the judge who will be randomly assigned to this case to review the merits of the petition and to rule on any contested issues of jurisdiction, unless otherwise ordered by the assigned judge, respondents will not remove the petitioner from the jurisdiction of the United States or transfer petitioner to a judicial district outside that of Massachusetts for a period of at least 72 hours from the time this Order is docketed,” Judge Talwani’s order states.

The petition filed by the attorney representing Patel argues that he is being held unlawfully.

“This is another example of ICE illegally and egregiously taking someone who is working hard to support their family,” she said, including a child born in the United States. “The family is a critical part of the fabric of a small community.”

Richardson said she was visiting family in Friendship when the arrest occurred.

“Time was of the essence,” the longtime Boston attorney said, to prevent Patel from being transferred outside of Massachusetts. The organization she works for represents immigrants and low-income individuals and families.

No further hearing dates have been scheduled, but the federal government has until July 6 to file a response.

The property at 11 Harbor Road in Friendship is owned by Krupa11, LLC. The manager for the limited liability company is listed as Namrata Patel of 11 Harbor Road, according to records maintained by the Maine Secretary of State’s Corporation Bureau.

Krupa bought the property in October 2014 from another LLC, Normy LLC whose member was listed as Ernest Coletti. The store first opened in 1855.

This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.