Wapato father detained by ICE after wife filmed and confronted agents at courthouse
Joseluis Ramirez, who moved to the U.S. from Mexico as a teenager and has lived in the country for roughly two decades, was stopped and detained by ICE while driving to work in Wapato, Washington on Aug. 31, after several vehicles blocked him at a stop sign. Ramirez has no criminal record and had worked at the same fruit company for 15 years, serving as the sole provider for his wife Vanessa Jimenez and her five children, all U.S. citizens, including a stepson, Evan Frias, who calls him 'dad.' Days before his arrest, Jimenez had confronted and filmed ICE agents outside the Yakima County jail and at the Yakima Municipal Court, and she suspects agents used a photo of her vehicle or license plate data to track down her husband. Agents reportedly encouraged Ramirez to sign self-deportation papers, which he declined. His bond request was later denied, and his family has filed a habeas corpus petition and started a GoFundMe to cover legal fees and household expenses while caring for two children with developmental delays and managing Jimenez's own disabling injury.
