KIRKLAND—Fernando Rocha, theater manager at Juanita High School in Kirkland, was arrested by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as first reported by independent journalist, and senior fellow with Discovery Institute, Jonathan Choe on Sunday, July 20. Rocha’s arrest by ICE may signal a loophole in the Keep Washington Working Act that may now place students at risk when it comes to federal immigration status verification and school employment requirements.
Choe’s reporting stemmed from a post by an Andrea Gibson Hallberg, an Instructional Assistant at Henry David Thoreau Elementary—part of the Lake Washington School District—in the Facebook group, Parenting Group of Middle/High School kids in LWSD which has over 7,500 members.
“I have just been told that our beloved theater director at JHS has been detained by ICE and I am wondering if anyone else in the theater community can confirm this, and if there is any way we can ensure he receives due process and help get him representation,” wrote Hallberg. “He has been an amazing mentor to my son and I want to do anything I can to help him.”
Senator Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond), deputy majority leader of the Washington State Senate, replied to Hallberg’s post writing, “My office has reached out to our federal delegation to try to get him released.”
In a follow-up post in the thread, Choe provided additional context: “Juanita High is located in Kirkland, WA. News of Rocha’s arrest was first reported on a parent’s FB group. It’s also unclear exactly where this bust went down.”…