‘Horrific’: ICE arrests alleged Tren de Aragua gang members in Spokane, sparks some outcry

Two alleged members of a Venezuelan gang were arrested by agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Spokane County. How they apprehended the suspects, however, has sparked significant controversy.

Kayla Somarriba, 25, filmed the confrontation and the arrests on her phone, according to KOMO News. Somarriba was inside the car driving with her husband, Jeison Ruiz-Rodriguez, and his brother, Cesar Ruiz-Rodriquez, when ICE agents stopped them. The two men failed to exit the car, per the ICE agents’ request, thinking a search warrant was required. ICE agents then shattered the car window and opened the door. There were approximately 12 ICE agents involved in the arrests.

According to Somarriba, the ICE agents claimed to have a search warrant, but never showed it.

“I am an American citizen; I know exactly how the law works, and what they did was illegal,” Somarriba said, according to The Spokesman-Review.

As the men were being forcefully removed, they exclaimed that Somarriba is pregnant, according to The Spokesman-Review.

“I would describe it personally as horrific,” Public Defender Kyle Madsen, Jeison Ruiz-Rodriguez’s attorney, told KOMO News. “I don’t see any reason why the tactics that they used needed to be used.”

Jeison and Cesar are currently being held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.

ICE arrests caught on camera

In a statement from ICE, the agency said both men are suspected members of Tren de Aragua—a Venezuelan gang deemed a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Tren de Aragua is the same gang the Trump Administration is actively targeting.

The suspects “failed to obey a lawful order to exit a vehicle, which resulted in forced entry by I.C.E officers,” an ICE spokesperson stated in a press release.

Somarriba claimed she was driving the men to a court hearing regarding an altercation that happened with a family member in December. Jeison, Cesar and others were accused of allegedly threatening to kill a cousin of his outside an apartment complex.

Jeison, originally from Nicaragua, was on the verge of obtaining his green card through his marriage to Somarriba, a U.S. citizen, according to The Spokesman-Review. Cesar is allegedly undocumented, but was in the process of obtaining a work permit and a social security number. He was arrested a year prior and was charged on suspicion of burglary and theft.

Madsen claimed law enforcement might have given ICE information about his client, causing him to file a motion asking for the criminal case to be dismissed. A hearing on the motion for dismissal is set for March 27.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

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