Pregnant Kenyan asylum seeker detained by ICE during USCIS interview, later released
Sep 16, 2026·Location: Tukwila, WA
Country of origin: Kenya

Cece Mokua, a 29-year-old pregnant Kenyan asylum applicant living in Spokane with her husband, Humphrey Oyoo, and their 1-year-old son, was detained by ICE agents while attending what she believed was a scheduled asylum interview with USCIS in Tukwila, WA, after the couple traveled five hours from Spokane. While Oyoo was delayed at a ground-floor metal detector with their child's stroller, Mokua was called upstairs, led into a separate room by an unidentified officer who did not show documents, and taken out a back door; Oyoo waited for hours unaware she had already been transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. She said she experienced contractions and a migraine in custody, was given only a doctor's note for a bottom bunk, and was released after roughly 36 hours without explanation for either her detention or release. She remains in deportation proceedings with an ankle monitor and a scheduled ICE check-in in Spokane; ICE has since pointed to a 2023 traffic stop in which she was charged with driving under the influence as a basis for the arrest. Mokua came to the U.S. legally as a teenager fleeing female genital mutilation but later fell out of legal status. Supporters, including the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and Defend Migrants Alliance, said ICE has used USCIS appointments as a basis for similar arrests in other cases.
Timeline
Sources
- ICE detains pregnant WA woman at her asylum interview. Was it a trap?
Seattle Times·Sep 18, 2026·archived copy
- Pregnant WA woman released after ICE detained her at asylum interview
spokesman.com·Sep 18, 2026·archived copy
- Pregnant WA woman released after ICE detained her at asylum interview - SEIU 775
seiu775.org·Sep 18, 2026
- Scary moment: Worry as ICE officers detain Kenyan mother during asylum interview
tuko.co.ke·Sep 23, 2026
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