Masked ICE Agents Arrest Asylum Seeker At Seattle Immigration Court

Masked ICE agents snatched an asylum seeker in the Federal Building in Downtown Seattle following an immigration hearing Tuesday. 

For a brief, terrifying period last spring, ICE used to lurk the halls of the Seattle Immigration Court to arrest people if a judge dismissed their deportation proceedings. But ICE stopped showing up after activists attempted to trap agents inside the building by blocking the garage exits with Lime bikes and scooters. 

Tuesday marks the first time in almost a year that attorneys and advocates report seeing ICE make an arrest in the Federal Building. And it is unclear if this will become a regular practice once again —  uncertainty that could scare people out of attending their hearings and trigger in absentia removal orders. 

Sources close to the situation who spoke to The Burner on the condition of anonymity said that the man ICE arrested yesterday was seeking asylum with his wife and their young child. Tuesday was their individual or “merit” hearing, the final, comprehensive trial before a judge, where the applicant and their legal counsel attempt to prove eligibility for asylum. 

The ICE lawyer cross examined the asylum seeker aggressively, but the respondent’s legal counsel did not have time to do the “redirect” examination (which aims to clarify, contextualize, correct, damage caused by the opposition’s cross examination) before the language interpreter had to leave, sources told The Burner. So, the judge decided they would revisit the case in May. 

But when the asylum seeker left the court room, several ICE agents met him in the hallway as captured in video circulating social media.

Sources said that his A-number shows ICE took him to the Northwest Detention Center. 

It is unclear when ICE left the building with the asylum seeker, but community members came to the Federal Building that afternoon to resurrect the Lime bike barricades that appeared to scare ICE off last year. As of 7:45am Wednesday morning, activists report the bikes were still blocking the Federal Building’s four garages.

After this incident, organizers from SuperFamilia are calling on concerned community members to participate in court watch from 8am to 5pm for the rest of the week. Advocates and attorneys stress that they do not know if this will become a regular practice again or if they specifically targeted this man for a one-off operation. ICE's lawyer allegedly called him a "terrorist" over the details of his testimony. ICE did not respond to request for comment over this arrest.

Regardless, the incident will undoubtedly stoke fear, which could cause people to skip their hearings. Even when ICE more regularly arrested people at the Seattle Immigration Court, attorneys still encouraged their clients to show up. If a respondent misses their court date, the judge will issue a deportation order. Consult a legal expert for advice. You may be eligible for free services from Colectiva Legal del Pueblo or the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.