ICE’s Tri-Cities Arrest Spree Targets Longtime Immigrant Workers, Not Violent Criminals

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is ramping up arrests in Washington state’s Tri-Cities area, but the agency’s own data shows these raids are not focused on violent criminals or public safety threats. Instead, ICE is targeting immigrants with minor or decades-old offenses, many of whom have been part of the community for years, working in agriculture and other labor sectors.

According to data obtained by the Tri-City Herald and analyzed by immigration advocates, arrests in Benton and Franklin counties last year doubled the combined total of the previous two years. Yet most of those detained had no significant criminal record. The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project’s Executive Director Malou Chavez explained that ICE relies heavily on publicly available information and is pushing for access to even more databases, including state labor records, to find targets.

“The majority are people who don’t have any major criminal history,” Chavez said. This is backed by ICE’s own data, which shows that among those with criminal records, most offenses were nonviolent misdemeanors like traffic violations or minor theft.

The detainees are overwhelmingly Latino, with many from Mexico and Central America, and a few from countries as far away as Afghanistan and Ukraine. Most have lived in the United States for over a decade, with some arriving as early as 1990. More than half of those with listed occupations worked as agricultural laborers—vital workers for the local economy.

ICE’s arrest tactics in the Tri-Cities do not resemble dramatic farm raids or crackdowns on dangerous offenders. Instead, many arrests stem from ICE’s requests to take custody of people already in county jails, often for minor crimes or even before conviction. Of 125 custody requests made between January and October 2025, more than half were for individuals not yet convicted, and only a handful had serious felony charges such as assault or rape.

Despite court orders, ICE has provided only limited spreadsheets lacking detailed narratives on how arrests were made or exact locations. This opacity raises concerns about accountability and the true criteria behind these detentions.

Advocates warn this approach is a deliberate strategy to target “easier” individuals who appear in public records rather than focusing on genuine threats, undermining immigrant communities that rely on these workers. The fact that ICE is increasingly using fugitive operations teams to make arrests, rather than administrative reviews, suggests a more aggressive and less transparent enforcement style.

This pattern fits a broader national trend under the Trump administration’s immigration policies: prioritizing mass arrests and deportations over targeted enforcement, often at the expense of due process and community stability.

The Tri-Cities data is a stark reminder that ICE’s actions are not about protecting public safety but about sowing fear and disruption among immigrant populations. As the agency expands its reach with scant oversight, these communities face an uncertain and precarious future.