COMMUNITY CASE STORIES
Below are sample case stories that illustrate the ramifications that detainer policy has on our community
members every day. They contain aspects of cases lawyers in King County see on a regular basis. However, the
case of Maria is the all too real experience of a domestic violence survivor who had her life was dramatically
altered due to a detainer hold, and GC is a case of a man that is currently in the Tacoma Detention Center—
as you can see detainer reform is urgent.
Maria, entered the U.S. in 2005 to join her boyfriend, Dario, a resident of Seattle whom she had met in her
native Colombia. He turned out to be an abusive alcoholic, and for the next five years, Maria suffered his abuse
while working full time without pay for his construction company. In January 2011, Maria told Dario she wanted
to leave him, and enraged, he choked her to the point of unconsciousness. Two weeks later, on February 17,
2011, she came home to find Dario and his family members throwing out her belongings and demanding that she
leave. She refused, and Dario called the police. She was unable to communicate effectively with the responding
officer due to a language barrier. The police handcuffed and arrested her. Maria was taken to the King County
jail. ICE’s records show that they were alerted to her arrest on that same day. She was arraigned the next day,
and the judge granted the defense motion’s for her release. Presumably due to an ICE hold, she was held over
the weekend, and on February 22, 2011, she was interviewed by an ICE officer pursuant to the Criminal Alien
Program, and released to ICE custody. She bonded out of ICE custody a week later after borrowing money from
friends. She was left homeless and penniless, and remains so. With the help of a domestic violence advocate
from Consejo Counseling and Referral Services, she reported Dario’s assaults against her in August of 2011. The
Seattle Police Department signed a U visa certification for her on November 10, 2011. Removal proceedings are
still pending against her.
GC, a father of two U.S. citizen children who has lived in the U.S. for over ten years was arrested late in
October by the Seattle Police Department on suspicion of a misdemeanor assault and was booked into the King
County Jail. The Seattle City Attorney reviewed the case and within a day decided that no charges would be
brought. Because the criminal case had ended, GC should have been released but, because ICE had placed a
detainer on him, he stayed in custody for an additional 24 hours and was taken to the Northwest Detention
Center in Tacoma. He is now facing deportation proceedings, as his family tries to cope with the loss of the
income he provided to the family.
Mirabela, an undocumented Domestic Violence survivor from Peru with two small US citizen children is
booked into DADJ charged with misdemeanor assault-DV. Despite the fact that she is the victim in the case, she
is arrested. She is interviewed by ICE telephonically at or near time of booking and an immigration detainer is
placed on her. Following her arraignment, her partner (the abuser) posts her $250 bail amount. Her release on
bail triggers the ICE detainer and she is transferred to ICE custody and deported.
David, a 35 year old man from Mexico was arrested and charged with reckless driving. He has been in the U.S.
for 13 years and is the father and primary economic support for his wife and three U.S. citizen children ages 12,
10 and 9. An ICE detainer was issued against him and, in addition to immediate transfer to ICE to face
deportation, he risks losing his job as a construction worker because he cannot get out of jail during his criminal
proceedings.
Ibrahim, a 19 year old Somali man is arrested and booked into jail on felony charges of taking a motor vehicle
without permission (Class C felony). He came to the U.S. as a refugee with his mother. His father and older
siblings were killed in the political violence that had caused them to flee to Kenya. Convicted of petty theft the
previous year, he now has an ICE detainer placed on him. Thus, he cannot get released on bail and is forced to
remain in jail for the duration of his criminal proceedings (several months). This makes it much more difficult to
defend against his criminal charges and costs the county significantly more money. Family members had been
prepared to post his bail money but did not do so when informed that this would result in his immediate
transfer to ICE custody.
ADRIANA’S STORY
Adriana Cazorla immigrated from Mexico in 1995 and is a domestic violence survivor. She currently works at the
YWCA,educating immigrant women about their rights and using her experiences to help fellow survivors. She testified at a
congressional hearing with We Belong Together in May,2015 and remains a steadfast advocate for immigrant rights. Her
story points out the urgent need for protections that the Washington Family Unity Act would provide.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/23/immigrant-women-facing-domestic-abuse-need-strongerprotections.html
I MMIGRANT W OMEN F ACING D OMESTIC A BUSE N EED S TRONGER P ROTECTIONS
“President Obama should take action now, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, to
protect immigrant women who are victims of domestic abuse from becoming victims of the
immigration system, too. I am a survivor of domestic violence, and I am an immigrant. My husband used my
immigration status to threaten me for over twelve years.
I came to this country from Mexico in 1995 because my husband told me that I had to come with him. If I
refused, he said that he would take our two-year-old son with him and that I would never see him again. My
husband’s father had arranged for him to immigrate legally, but I had no choice but to come without papers.
When I arrived we settled in Vancouver, Washington. Between 1995 and 2007, my husband abused me
physically, sexually, and psychologically. He would throw things, hit me, and kick me. He told me that if I called
the police for help he would report me to immigration. I tried to leave him but he said that if I left and took my
two children with me he would accuse me of kidnapping and report me to immigration. Every day that I left to
go to work I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to come home to my children.
Eventually, he did report me to immigration. After one incident in which both my husband and his brother
threatened me, I left my home and tried to get a restraining order against my husband. But when I got to court
my brother-in-law was there. He told the judge that I was undocumented and that immigration authorities were
looking for me.
The next day immigration officials came to my job looking for me and I was detained for four months, separated
from my children and fearful for their safety. Fortunately I found a lawyer who helped me apply for my residency
under the Violence Against Women Act. When I was released, I was eventually reunited with my children, but it
took six months of fighting for custody, which I almost lost because I wasn’t able to attend the court hearings
while I was detained. My children and I are safe now, but we will always by scarred by those twelve years of
abuse and fear of deportation.
Today I volunteer with the YWCA, teaching immigrant women about their rights and using my personal
experience to help other women who are facing abuse. Every day, undocumented women live with violence and
fear. Women are losing their children, just as I came so close to losing mine. And because of laws requiring
collaboration between local police and immigration officers, women like me are afraid to seek help. Many
women come to this country seeking safety and protection, but often what we find is a nightmare.
President Obama has the power to change this by strengthening protections for immigrant women, starting with
ending collaborations between police and immigration officers like the so-called “Secure Communities” program
that makes immigrant women afraid to report abuse to the police or seek help and services. President Obama
can provide women like me relief from detention and deportation and ensure that not one more mother is
unfairly separated from her children. We need the President to take action immediately so that other women
do not have to go through what I went through—or worse.
This is my own story, but I know that it is also the story of too many other immigrant women. Women’s lives
are at stake, and we cannot afford to wait any longer. This month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we
must all raise our voices to protect immigrant women who are subjected to domestic violence without
recourse, and amplify the urgent call to end all violence against women and children.”