Human Impact Project

More than 50 employees at Premier Packing, a seafood processing plant in Lynden, Washington, have been detained by ICE since March 2026 through a series of coordinated arrests designed to bypass a new state law requiring employers receive five business days' notice before I-9 inspections. The detentions have occurred through multiple methods: roadside stops and checkpoints on county roads using unmarked vehicles with flashing lights, arrests during employees' commutes, and on July 22-23, ICE agents posed as members of a religious organization handing out free water bottles across the street from the business to lure workers off the property before arresting at least two to four employees. Local volunteers documented an uptick in ICE detentions in Whatcom County, increasing from two to four individuals per week to approximately two arrests per day, with advocates estimating about a dozen of the detained workers have since been deported. The business owner acknowledged that while some detainees may have committed crimes, "a lot of people that haven't done anything wrong are getting picked up too," and said there is "a better way." Immigration advocates characterize the operation as a pattern of intimidation tactics designed to circumvent legal workplace raid procedures.

A man was arrested by federal agents in the parking lot of a Walmart in Yakima, Washington. A witness recorded video of the arrest, capturing agents subduing the man as he repeated "Estoy sangrando" (I am bleeding). The incident occurred amid growing concern over deaths during immigration enforcement operations. A man was detained by ICE agents in a Home Depot parking lot in Yakima, Washington. According to Jamie Angel, who recorded the detention, agents blocked the man's vehicle from multiple sides before removing him from the car. Angel reported seeing several ICE vehicles parked and concealed in various points of the parking lot when he arrived at the store. Home Depot stated it is aware of agent presence at some of its locations and said it seeks to maintain a welcoming environment while complying with applicable laws.

Immigration agents detained and deported at least 50 employees of Premier Packing in Lynden, Washington, over a five-month period beginning in March, with the most recent incident on July 23, according to the nonprofit Racial Unity Now. The group said agents tracked workers' commute routes, waited near a grocery store service road, and detained some as they crossed the street for water offered on a hot day, in what it called the first 'soft raid' in Whatcom County. Racial Unity Now said the agents appeared to come from multiple federal agencies under the Department of Homeland Security rather than solely ICE, and that neither ICE nor Premier Packing responded to requests for comment. The organization's executive director, Jeremy Dorrough, said he worried Whatcom County was being used as a 'soft target' for tactics that could spread elsewhere, and raised concerns about children facing poverty, trauma and hunger when a parent is detained.

Garnet Smith, a 44-year-old U.S. Army veteran originally from Jamaica, was released from the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma on July 21, 2026, after spending over nine months in ICE detention. During his detention, Smith reported experiencing sexual assault by a GEO Group guard during a pat-down search, as well as inadequate medical care for a broken hand and poor detention conditions including inedible food and foul drinking water. A federal judge granted Smith's habeas corpus petition on July 20, finding that his earlier bond hearing violated his due process rights and that his prolonged detention was unlawful. Smith continues to fight a deportation order to Jamaica while advocates call for an investigation into the alleged sexual assault.

Lewelyn Dixon, a 64-year-old Filipino green-card holder who had lived in the United States for over 50 years, was detained by CBP at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in late February 2025 after returning from a trip to the Philippines. Dixon worked as a lab technician at the University of Washington. Immigration officials cited criminal cases against her, including a 2000-2001 embezzlement conviction for which she served no jail time and completed restitution payments by 2019. After approximately three months in ICE detention at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Judge Tammy Fitting ruled in May 2025 that Dixon should not be deported and granted her relief available to lawful permanent residents. Following her release, Dixon applied for citizenship to protect herself from future enforcement actions. Her niece stated: "We're not even going to chance it again." On July 20, 2026, Dixon was naturalized as a U.S. citizen, reciting the Oath of Allegiance on her 66th birthday.

ICE agents in Lakewood, Washington detained 23-year-old Venezuelan citizen Moises Velasquez while searching for a Mexican national with a final deportation order who drove the same make and model car. Velasquez, who entered the U.S. legally through a CBP appointment in 2023, was paroled, obtained employment authorization, and was awaiting a December 2026 asylum hearing when agents broke his car window and pulled him from his vehicle outside the barber shop where he works; his fiancée, then eight months pregnant, was on the phone and heard him screaming for help. His attorney, Bart Klein, said ICE agents realized they had detained the wrong person but sent him to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma anyway. A federal magistrate judge called the arrest 'egregious' and granted a habeas corpus petition, and Velasquez was released after about a month in detention and has returned to work.

Anselmo Esquivel was detained by ICE on a Monday morning and is being held in Tacoma, Washington. His family describes him as a hardworking and generous man. The detention has been devastating for his entire family, who are seeking financial support during this difficult time.

An unidentified man was detained by ICE in White Center, Seattle on July 2, 2026. According to a social media account, he was taken into custody from a vehicle while his young daughter was in the backseat. The man's mother arrived to take the child, and bystanders reported she told ICE officers the family had immigration paperwork, but he was detained anyway. Neighbors gathered at the scene, using whistles, recording, and calling 911 in response to the enforcement action.

An unnamed woman who entered the United States legally and is in the asylum process was detained by ICE at a Washington, DC-area airport this month while traveling home to Texas to attend her father's funeral, according to her immigration attorney Joe Moravec. She is currently being held in Virginia.

Federal immigration agents conducted a large-scale enforcement operation on June 28, 2026, in Shelton involving multiple vehicles and locations, resulting in the detention of at least 21 people. The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network confirmed the operation and urged those affected to know their rights. The operation was part of a nationwide surge in immigration arrests, with ICE detaining more than 10,000 people across the U.S. over the previous five days.

Jorge, a husband and father of five, was detained by ICE last week. He is the sole provider for his family. A GoFundMe was created to help cover legal fees and living expenses during his detention.

Loreto Javar, a 76-year-old lawful permanent resident from the Philippines who has lived in the U.S. for over three decades, was released from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma after more than two months in detention. The retired hotel worker from Fife, who has Stage 4 prostate cancer, was detained by ICE during his U.S. citizenship interview in Tukwila after officials said he failed to disclose a decades-old criminal conviction from the Philippines on his original visa application. During detention he was fed only foods advocates say were not nutritious enough for someone with cancer, and his daughter said he now suffers from PTSD and is afraid to leave his house. He was released on recognizance with an ankle monitor and still faces deportation proceedings, with a check-in and a master hearing scheduled for later in September.

Sebastian Mihai Caraba, a Hungarian-Romanian national, was arrested by ICE on June 10, 2026, in Washington, D.C. for overstaying his visa and alleged credit card fraud. Caraba entered the U.S. on August 11, 2018, under the Visa Waiver Program via San Juan, Puerto Rico, and had previously visited the U.S. twice under the same program, departing within the authorized period each time. He was wanted in Fairfax, Virginia for illegal use of credit cards and had been convicted abroad for similar credit card fraud, receiving a three-year prison sentence. An immigration judge issued a final removal order on June 22, 2026.

ICE conducted a targeted enforcement operation near Aurora Avenue and Shoreline Street in Seattle on June 20, 2026, resulting in the arrest of four Mexican nationals. Emmanuel Perez-Martinez, 33, was arrested and is pending voluntary departure to Mexico. Juan Ruiz-Perez, 61, and Jose Gutierrez-Diaz, 47, were arrested and detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center pending return to Mexico. A fourth individual, Jose Gutierrez-Villanueva, 24, was also detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center pending an immigration hearing.

Adriana Quiroz Zapata, a 53-year-old Colombian national and torture survivor with New Jersey ties, was detained by ICE in August 2024 after re-entering the United States despite a prior removal order. In February 2025, she passed a Reasonable Fear Interview and received withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Despite these protections, ICE deported her to the Democratic Republic of the Congo on April 16, 2026—a country where she has no ties and where she cannot receive adequate medical care for her chronic conditions. On May 14, 2026, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to return her, ruling the deportation likely illegal. However, on June 15, 2026, the judge reversed that order after the administration produced evidence claiming the DRC had agreed to accept her, leaving Zapata in the DRC.

Filogonio Rojas-Vasquez, 29, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE agents on June 13, 2026, in the parking lot of Saars Super Saver Foods in Kent. According to ICE, he had entered the United States illegally at least five times since 2023 and had been returned to Mexico four times. He was also arrested by Burien Police in June 2025 for driving under the influence. He was detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma pending deportation. The arrest prompted approximately 25 protesters from Indivisible Kent and Indivisible Covington to gather on nearby 104th Avenue SE on June 14 to demonstrate against ICE enforcement actions in the region.

Fredy Cruz-Calderon, 48, was arrested by masked ICE agents on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 8:15 a.m. while getting out of his car in a parking lot near Snoqualmie Hall, where he was waiting to take part in a college class activity. College officials say the agents left campus with him without providing names, badges, or a warrant, prompting security to follow state protocols barring assistance to federal immigration agents. Cruz-Calderon entered the U.S. legally on a visa in May 2018 but overstayed and did not obtain legal status to remain; he is detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma pending deportation to Colombia. The arrest has prompted students to call for more campus resources and led the college's teachers' union to form a task force to improve communication and emergency alert protocols.

Federal immigration enforcement officials conducted a vehicle chase that ended in the parking lot of Steilacoom High School in Washington on June 12, 2026. The chase began at Western State Hospital parking lot and continued onto Sentinel Drive before concluding at the high school. The driver, a middle-aged man, attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended by immigration authorities.

Chanh Phansisay, a Laotian refugee who arrived in the U.S. as a baby and initially avoided deportation with help from the Seattle Clemency Project, was later detained after a routine ICE check-in tied to a decades-old removal order. His uncle, Ky Sengdara, was detained alongside him; Sengdara fled Laos as a child after his family worked with the U.S. military during the "secret war" and later obtained a green card. The Seattle Clemency Project and volunteer attorneys are advocating for both men, who have no meaningful connections to Laos, as part of the organization's 2026 effort assisting 19 similar cases of Laotian refugees facing deportation across the Northwest.

A Guatemalan mother and her three children were detained by ICE on May 28, 2026, at a Ferndale facility during what they believed was part of the CBP Home self-deportation process, and were deported to Guatemala on May 30. The family had visited a government office in Tukwila on May 27 as part of the voluntary departure process with a scheduled June 19 departure date. According to her attorney, the mother was told through the CBP Home app that she needed to retrieve her passport and have an exit interview at the Ferndale appointment, but ICE staff later indicated the appointment was specifically intended for detention and removal. The family's 14-year-old son, who entered separately with his father, was left behind.