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Pregnant Kenyan asylum seeker detained by ICE during USCIS interview, later released

Sep 16, 2026·Location: Tukwila, WA

Country of origin: Kenya

Pregnant Kenyan asylum seeker detained by ICE during USCIS interview, later released
Photo via Seattle Times

Cece Mokua, a 29-year-old pregnant Kenyan asylum applicant living in Spokane with her husband, Humphrey Oyoo, and their 1-year-old son, was detained by ICE agents while attending what she believed was a scheduled asylum interview with USCIS in Tukwila, WA. Officers separated her from her family, handcuffed her, and held her in holding cells before transferring her to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, where she said she experienced contractions and a migraine. She was given only a doctor's note for a bottom bunk and released after roughly 36 hours without explanation, but remains in deportation proceedings with an ankle monitor and a scheduled check-in with ICE in Spokane. Mokua came to the U.S. legally as a teenager fleeing female genital mutilation but later fell out of legal status. Her husband, a home health aide and SEIU union member, said the family was targeted despite having supporters and press present for the interview. Supporters, including the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and Defend Migrants Alliance, said her case reflects a pattern of ICE using USCIS appointments as a pretext for arrests.

Timeline

Sep 16, 2026Mokua released after about 36 hours in custody without explanation, remaining in deportation proceedings with an ankle monitor
Sep 15, 2026Mokua held overnight in holding cells before being transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, where she experienced contractions and a migraine
Sep 14, 2026Cece Mokua detained by ICE agents while attending a scheduled asylum interview with USCIS in Tukwila, WA, and separated from her husband and son
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