By Luisa Loi
La Conner Community News
Videos circulating on social media show what appears to be federal agents carrying out an arrest early Monday morning at Sakuma Brothers, a berry farm in Burlington.
The incident, which happened at about 6 a.m., was also reported on the Stop ICE Raids Alert Network, a website where people keep track and alert the community of any U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity around the country.
One of the videos shows a person being placed in a black vehicle by three agents wearing police vests. The second video starts as the agents are about to leave the scene aboard three black and unmarked vehicles parked in a parking area near the fields.
La Conner Community News could not independently verify how many people were arrested. Sakuma Bros did not return a request for comment by press time.
Two of the agents can be seen wearing face coverings in the second video.
In March, the Washington Legislature passed Senate Bill 5855, which bans federal immigration agents from covering their faces while interacting with the public and performing their duties, unless the agent is carrying out an undercover operation, is wearing a religious face covering, or is protecting themself from infection, toxins and other hazardous conditions.
Edgar Franks, political director of immigrant farmworker union Familias Unidas por la Justicia, expressed his concern in a statement, calling for elected officials to take action to protect workers.
“This morning we were notified that there was an ICE operation at a farm in Skagit County. On Friday we received news of two farmworkers that had dropped off their children at childcare and were detained while on their way to work. The parents are now in Tacoma at the Northwest Detention Center, while the children remain unable to see their parents. In Lynden, WA a workplace raid affected over 50 workers at a food processing warehouse,” he wrote. “We need to protect the people who enrich our communities with culture and also boost our economies. ICE agents are tearing apart our community fabric and it will take all of us to preserve and repair.”
In an email sent to La Conner Community News on July 15, a spokesperson for ICE wrote that, thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has increased its workforce by 120%, which has meant the addition of 12,000 officers and agents on the ground across the country.
“For operational security purposes, ICE will not discuss ongoing or future operations including removals,” he wrote in response to some questions about the recent ramp-up in operations in Skagit County. “ICE will continue to make arrests routinely across the United States. All aliens who violate U.S. immigration law are subject to arrest and detention, regardless of their criminal histories.”
“We need help”
On July 22, about 20 people gathered in Mount Vernon to mourn the people who have been arrested and killed by ICE, as well as to share information and resources.
Standing about 200 yards away from the site of two recent arrests, Isaac, a member of Community to Community who asked to keep his last name anonymous due to safety concerns, said immigrant farmworkers have been living in fear since the Obama Administration but have grown more afraid under President Donald Trump because ICE has become more aggressive.
As a U.S.-born farmworker and son of immigrant farmworkers, he pointed out the role his community plays in Skagit’s agricultural economy, particularly during the harvest season.
While many come to the U.S. to work with the hope of a better life, he said children often grow up questioning if their parents are bad people as a result of immigration enforcement and the narrative surrounding immigration. On top of that, following the arrest of a parent or the family breadwinner, the eldest children are often forced to give up their childhoods to take care of their younger siblings, he said, which can further add to the trauma.
Isaac encourages the community to speak up, start a food bank, join a rapid response team or tell their immigrant neighbors they are not alone.
“We’re in a moment where we need our allies, and we need our people, but they need to listen,” he said. “They need to listen to what we need. We’re dying out here. We need help.”
Community members prepare
In La Conner, resident and long-time activist Miriam Fein organized a community action group to prepare for the worst after witnessing an arrest that left her feeling “helpless and terrified.”
A few weeks ago, while driving in Burlington on her way to an appointment, she heard something that sounded like sirens. When she turned to her left, she saw a black unmarked SUV with flashing lights. Then, she saw what she described as a man squirming and writhing on the ground, his hands and feet tied up while three men held him down.
Although she didn’t see any beatings, she noted that the man in the middle, whom she recalled was wearing black pants and a red shirt, “was restraining him with tremendous force.”
“They could have killed this guy,” Fein said.
Since she was just driving by, she only saw a few seconds of what was happening. While she considered driving back to say something, she is glad she didn’t, as that could have only escalated the situation. She instead reported the incident to the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, the state’s largest immigrant and refugee justice network.
That Saturday, she gathered a group of concerned friends and neighbors in La Conner to exchange contact information in hopes that, if something like that were to happen in La Conner (where she’s heard of unmarked vehicles seen around town), they could share the information and support one another.
At the same time, she did so to get some much needed emotional support after witnessing the arrest.
“It was a horrible experience, I never want to see that again,” she said. “Hopefully, if I do — which I might because it’s happening in Skagit County — I’ll have the resources that I need… and I’ll know what to do to document it better.”
Her friend and fellow activist, La Conner resident Joan Cross, advises the public not to get involved in federal immigration operations, and to document the event and take notes from a safe distance. Together, they encourage people to vote, practice kindness, and not to let fear take control.
“That’s going to consume us very easily if we let it,” Fein said.
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
