Photo by Chris Rojas
by Hannah Saunders
What many King County residents have suspected to be the case has just been confirmed by the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights (UWCHR): Washington experienced a “historic surge,” in immigration-related arrests this year. This past June, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) grabbed 705 community members, with 669 being at-large arrests, meaning they took place in the community, like on the sides of roads, workplaces, and homes.
Out of June’s 705 arrests, 33 were custodial, meaning ICE and Customs and Border Patrol grabbed people who were released from prison or jail. Between January-July this year, King and Yakima counties experienced the most arrests, although per capita, Yakima and Chelan counties had the highest number of arrests, according to UWCHR, which obtained this data through Freedom of Information Act requests.
“ICE doesn’t tell us how many are accompanied by violence; how many take place in the presence of children; or how many are preceded by the issuance of a lawful warrant. In fact, what community members and observers report is that many appear to be acts of opportunistic racial profiling, carried out by masked agents driving unmarked vehicles in ways that sow terror among affected communities,” according to UWCHR.
UWCHR released this information on social media on September 1, and stated that these data points do not reflect whether the State of Washington passed information on to feds to assist with arrests. Superfamilia, a group of undocumented immigrants who have been working tirelessly to support impacted families and community members, has repeatedly emphasized how the Washington Department of Licensing (DOL) has shared driver and vehicle information with ICE.
“As of Aug 31, 2026 UWCHR has confirmed 212 cases in which federal agents queried license plates in the WA DOL database prior to carrying out an arrest on our streets,” according to UWCHR.
Community members seeking to support families and community members impacted by ICE’s continued and increasing kidnappings can connect with Superfamilia on Instagram.
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