Two immigrants came here legally. They were detained anyway, sparking Spokane's mass ICE protest

Yahoo

13 hours ago

Jun. 13—It took almost no time for two immigrants to become part of Shelly O'Quinn's family.
She was on the cusp of becoming one of their "sponsors" to guide them in the United States as part of the U.S.' asylum program. By all accounts, everything was going right. The two would spend their days working at the Airway Heights Walmart, check in with immigration and make it to every court hearing.
It all changed on Wednesday when they received a notice to check in with immigration. But instead of a check-in, the two were picked up by federal authorities.
"They are such good young men," O'Quinn said. "They did all of it legally. And they have such a heartbreaking story."
O'Quinn, a former Republican Spokane County commissioner, met 21-year-old Cesar Alexander Alvarez Perez and 28-year-old Joswar Slater Rodriguez Torres last year at a church event after they escaped persecution in Venezuela.
The two refugees met in Colombia and began the trek to Mexico, but their journey was largely traumatic, O'Quinn said — they were sleeping on roads, were robbed at gunpoint and threatened with machetes.
"They got jobs in Mexico. They went to the border every day and applied to get into the U.S.," O'Quinn said. "They finally were accepted and came here legally, in the humanitarian parole program."
They both qualified for asylum and were following the legal court process, O'Quinn said. Alvarez Perez qualified for the juvenile asylum process because he came to the U.S. younger than 21.
They even had a court hearing scheduled for October, and it left O'Quinn optimistic about where things were headed. In Minneapolis on a work trip, she was stunned when she got the call that chaos had broke out on the streets of Spokane because the men were detained by ICE.
Alvarez Perez's sponsor, former city council president Ben Stuckart, had taken the two to their check-in when authorities detained them instead. Stuckart posted a call to action on Facebook, which led residents to swarm the ICE office off West Cataldo Avenue in North Spokane.
The protest erupted throughout the evening, with a group of people attempting to stop unmarked law enforcement vehicles from leaving. Federal agents pushed back, sending some protesters' belongings falling to the ground. Others crowded a bus to prevent it from leaving and were ultimately arrested for obstruction and failure to disperse, one of them being Stuckart.
While more faced off with police and deputies, law enforcement began throwing canisters of smoke and pepper balls to disperse the crowd.
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown then issued a 9:30 p.m. curfew, calling the decision "the best path forward" for everyone to stay safe.
Stuckart eventually posted bail, but he has yet to hear from Alvarez Perez and Rodriguez Torres, he said. O'Quinn, fearing the worst, flew to Seattle on Thursday and plans to attempt a visit with the two transported to Tacoma's immigration detention center.
"If I can't see them, the next step is figuring out how I can ... Imagine if your kids were in a detention center with no contacts. It's a scary place," O'Quinn said. "I just imagine the fear they are feeling, and I want them to know someone cares for them."
The legal way, no longer
Alvarez Perez and Rodriguez Torres came to the United States through a legal program known as the Venezuelan Humanitarian Parole Program, or the "CHNV" program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. It allows for immigrants facing persecution to legally live and work in the U.S. "under parole."
President Donald Trump attempted to terminate the program earlier this year, but a Massachusetts judge issued an injunction to pause the action. On May 30, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the injunction, giving Trump free reign to end the parole program and continue mass immigrant deportations, something he has vowed to do since the start of his presidency. The crackdown on immigration has led ICE to detain people all across the country.
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a notice to the thousands of immigrants taking part in the program that their legal status has since been terminated, according to reporting from CNN.
"This notice informs you that your parole is now terminated. If you do not leave, you may be subject to enforcement actions, including but not limited to detention and removal, without an opportunity to make personal arrangements and return to your country in an orderly manner," the notice says.
It's unclear whether Alvarez Perez and Rodriguez Torres received a parole termination notice, O'Quinn said. Either way, she expected it wouldn't affect them because they had another pathway into the U.S. by asylum — but now, even their asylum status is murky. Alvarez-Perez also celebrated his birthday just this week, consequently aging him out of the juvenile asylum program he was part of.
"We are a county that allows for due process. I believe they should have the right to due process. They did what they were supposed to do," O'Quinn said. "We are not a country that should be picking up people are who legally here without due process. It's a violation of our rights in the United States."
The Supreme Court decision allowing for deportation of those on humanitarian parole is "brutal on its face," according to Spokane civil rights attorney Jeffry Finer. Normally, an injunction would give time for litigation while also preventing undue harm where there is no reasonable remedy, he said, like tearing down a historical building.
"There's no way to bring back the building. You can't fix it or reverse it," Finer said. "So if it's going to have irreparable damages, an injunction is the way to litigate the merit and keep the status quo so nobody is harmed if the lawsuit is successful."
The dissenting Supreme Court opinion states the court botched the way it protects people during ongoing litigation. Finer said his interpretation of it shows "the risk to the government is small" but "the risk to immigrants is huge" — because once they're deported, there likely won't be a push to bring them back.
And there's no telling if the two will be deported, because the jail is "a black hole" of information, Stuckart said.
Alvarez Perez and Rodriguez Torres were so desperate to flee, they walked for weeks to find freedom from persecution and remained here with no criminal record, Stuckart added, which tells him no one is exempt from deportations. Immigrants with minor or no criminal records are still being detained across the U.S. despite Trump saying he wants to crack down on immigrants with violent backgrounds.
"They don't have years to wait. Once they did get here, these two gentlemen got legal work permits and were working full time and contributing to society with taxes," he said. "I don't know what the difference is between someone who comes in at one point or another point. Take politics out of it. This goes beyond a political lens."
Past the politics
O'Quinn's family refers to Rodriguez Torres as "Randy," a name he picked himself, because people had trouble pronouncing his name. It's hard for her to look at news reports and court records identifying him as "Joswar," she said. A picture of the two taken at the Barton English School, both smiling ear to ear, is "the smiles they always have on their face," O'Quinn wrote in a text.
"I want him to come home," she said Thursday. "Both of them."
While Stuckart is a Democrat and O'Quinn was a Republican commissioner, the urge to bring back the men spans the political divide. Stuckart has made contact with Sen. Maria Cantwell's office, and O'Quinn said she reached out to Rep. Michael Baumgartner for help, and he responded promptly by having his staff track information for her on how she could find where the men were taken.
"He's actually been very supportive," she said, "And I appreciate that."
Baumgartner released a statement Thursday about the protests applauding law enforcement's response and encouraging people to work with federal officials to enforce immigration laws.
"We need both secure borders and immigration reform," the statement reads. "Peaceful protest is guaranteed under the Constitution, but there is no excuse for violence or impeding law enforcement officials."
His office has not responded for further comment.
The stories of Alvarez Perez and Rodriguez Torres deserve to be told, because "they have demonstrated their American values of hard work and integrity," O'Quinn said — they shouldn't become political pawns in a battle with red or blue. Both Republicans and Democrats have vouched for the men, Stuckart said later, calling them "the people you want in our country."
Both agree the men did everything they're told to do as immigrants: apply to come into the country legally, get a job and pay taxes.
It's the reason O'Quinn believes their detainment doesn't reflect the values of Spokane.
"I am grateful for the people who stood up for their rights yesterday," she said. "It tells them that it wasn't Spokane that kicked them out."
Editor's note — this story was corrected to reflect the men were not refugees under the U.S. Government but were rather seeking asylum.