Family back home after being arrested by ICE while camping in Washington

Fox - Seattle
12 followers
Oct 28, 2026
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Video Summary
AI GeneratedFive Mexican nationals were arrested by ICE agents while camping at Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest over Labor Day weekend. After spending six weeks in a Tacoma detention center and paying significant bonds, they have returned to their families but remain under supervision with ankle monitors and face uncertain futures regarding their legal residency.
The five men arrested by immigration agents while camping
at the Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest over Labor Day weekend
are now back home with their families.
Fox 13's Alejandro Guzman sat down with all of them.
They say their future in the country remains in limbo.
They're home, back with their families,
but all five men are still wearing ankle monitors,
a reminder that their release from immigration detention is not over.
Faustino tells me it's an experience he wouldn't wish on anyone.
He says he felt like a criminal, like something he'd seen in movies.
The five Mexican nationals went camping with their wives
and children over Labor Day weekend
at the Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
when they say they were approached by forest
rangers demanding their IDs,
saying there was a trash issue at the campsite.
The 38-year-old says they were deceived.
He believes rangers weren't there because of the trash,
but to see what their immigration
status actually was.
The men say they only realized people outside
their tent were ICE agents after handing over
their IDs in the middle of the night.
The men say they were handcuffed
and shackled around their waist and feet and driven to
the detention center in Tacoma,
where they spent about six weeks in custody.
They say conditions inside were difficult,
with poor food and lack of medical care that
left them and many other detainees with infections.
The men were released
on bond after paying between $10,000 to $15,000 each.
says he was relieved
to hear the judge set bail.
He recalls walking back to his holding cell,
smiling, yet sad for the hundreds of other
immigrants still detained.
The 29-year-old says being
separated from their wives and
children was very difficult.
Trauma, he says, lingers as he now
wakes up to his wife crying and
their son screaming his name.
Happy birthday to-
Their reunion is bittersweet.
Some of them miss their children or
wives' birthdays while in custody.
The tough part now are the
questions from their children.
Fernando says his eight-year-old daughter,
like many of the children, asks about his ankle monitor.
He's honest with her, explaining he's not in the country legally.
With their immigration cases pending, the men can no longer work.
For now, they're trying to enjoy every minute they have with their
families, as the possibility of being home together may not last.
Alvaro says they feel trapped
and frustrated by the process they're going through.
While they're hopeful to earn lawful residency,
he fears in one or two years, they'll learn
they'll be deported.
Alejandra Guzman, FOX 13 News.
