HUMSI — Human Security Initiative

Human Impact Project

A living database documenting reported immigration enforcement incidents and their human impact.

Venezuelan man wrongly detained by ICE released after month in custody, returns to work

Jul 17, 2026·Location: Lakewood, WA

Country of origin: Venezuela

Venezuelan man wrongly detained by ICE released after month in custody, returns to work
Photo via chronline.com

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.

Suggest a correction, comment, or update

Sources

More incidents in Washington