ISLAND COUNTY: ICE takes man into custody at Langley laundromat

Luisa Loi reports from Island County for the South Whidbey Record.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at a Langley laundromat Wednesday has raised concerns among some local leaders and residents.

While rumors swirled about the number of people involved, officials said that just one man was taken into custody and apparently transported to detention for eventual deportation.

Langley happens to be the only “sanctuary city” on the island, which means that city resources cannot be used to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE. In fact, Langley Mayor Kennedy Horstman, as well as Langley Police Department Chief Tavier Wasser and Island County Sheriff Rick Felici, said they were unaware of the raid until after the fact and had few details to offer.

They Said It

While local law enforcement and community leaders could not share the name of the person taken into custody, an email sent out by South Whidbey School District Superintendent Josephine Moccia states the individual was a parent.

“At South Whidbey, we will do everything we can to protect our students when they are at school, no matter their citizenship status,” Superintendent Josephine Moccia wrote in a letter to the community Wednesday, inviting students and staff to take Friday off to reflect and rest.

Felici said he’s been in contact with ICE and hopes to provide more information at a county commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday. He did confirm that ICE’s actions were not random.

“This action is consistent with what they said about picking up people who have problems with criminal activity in the community,” he said, referring to the Trump administration’s plans for targeting illegal immigrants who are “criminals” in deportation raids.

Though the reason why ICE targeted this particular individual has yet to be disclosed, Island County Commissioner Melanie Bacon, who represents South Whidbey, said the raid wasn’t just an attack on an undocumented worker, but an action taken against an individual who had been on the agency’s radar for “certain behaviors,” though she could not provide more information.

Felici said this is the first time ICE has detained someone on the island, as far as he is aware.

Jill Johnson, the county commissioner representing the greater Oak Harbor area, said she is concerned about what standards are being used to target and deport people.

“I don’t know how that’s not concerning to everyone, regardless of your opinions on immigration,” she said. “Think about what that means, that (the) government can just go in there and pick people up and remove them.”

While there should be consequences for breaking the law, she said, there should be a more compassionate way to deal with these issues to avoid traumatizing and “ripping families apart.”

Though she has handed out some business cards and the county’s Human Services department may help families of people who have been arrested by ICE by connecting them with the appropriate resources, Johnson worries many people are too scared of being reported if they seek help from the local government. At the same time, she said, she’s unsure whether she or anyone should trust the federal government.

After receiving inquiries about the role of local law enforcement, Felici wrote in a statement published on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page that the focus of local departments is to address criminal violations that affect the safety and quality of life of the community.

Often, local law enforcement is called to assist federal officers by being on stand-by during operations, but only with a focus on criminal acts, not immigration status, he clarified.

“The federal government has no direct authority over local law enforcement,” he wrote.

According to South Whidbey School Board President Brook Willeford, the board will look at ways to further strengthen policies that protect students regardless of their status at a meeting on Feb. 12.

In Coupeville, the board unanimously approved a policy that limits immigration enforcement in schools.

“It’s important for our staff and students to feel safe and secure, and that we don’t have a disruption to the learning environment,” Superintendent Shannon Leatherwood said at the meeting.

In a statement sent to the community after Wednesday events, Leatherwood emphasized that state law and current federal law protect every child’s access to public education regardless of their immigration status and reminded them of mental health resources available to students.