Whatcom County labor activist who was detained by ICE agents transferred to Tacoma facility
A prominent Whatcom County farming labor activist who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents Tuesday has been moved to a federal detention center in Tacoma, and supporters planned to hold a protest at the facility Thursday.
Alfredo (Lelo) Juarez Zeferino, 25, was arrested around 7 a.m. Tuesday at Sedro-Woolley. He was originally taken to the ICE facility in Ferndale but was moved to Tacoma later in the day.
Zeferino has been living in the United States for at least 12 years, since he was 13, according to Liz Darrow, participatory democracy program coordinator for Community to Community Development (C2C), a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting farmworker rights, climate justice and civic engagement.
Following his arrest, around 200 protesters lined the street outside the ICE office in Ferndale on Tuesday.
Another protest organized by the Washington State Labor Council is planned for 5:30 p.m. Thursday in front of the Tacoma Detention Center. Thursday’s protest is against the detention of Zeferino and Lewelyn Dixon, a SEIU local 925 union member and lab technician at UW Medicine who has been in custody since early March.
A spokesperson from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told The Herald on Wednesday afternoon that an immigration judge had ordered Zeferino to be removed from the country in 2018, seven years ago. Zeferino would have been 18 at the time.
Edgar Franks is political director for Familias Unidas por la Justica, the farmers workers union Zeferino supports and works for. Franks told The Herald in an interview Thursday it’s possible Zeferino didn’t know there was an order for his removal.
Franks said Zeferino was in his vehicle and asking agents for a warrant when they smashed the window and dragged him out of the vehicle.
In an ICE statement to The Herald on Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson said Zeferino refused commands to exit the vehicle he was occupying.
“People are experiencing a huge amount of fear and reservation about going to work, or going anywhere, which I am sure was the intention of taking someone who was so high profile” Darrow said. “Because of the work that Lelo does, everybody knows him. This has been amplified hugely. We know there are people everyday (that are taken) but this week has been different. We have been getting a lot more reports of people being detained.”
Zeferino was one of several people arrested by ICE Tuesday and Wednesday, many of whom have not yet been identified. The Herald has not yet verified Zeferino’s exact immigration status. Since he came to the U.S. at age 13, it’s very likely he is enrolled in the Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program or the DREAM Act program. Under DACA, enrollees are not U.S. citizens but the program provides a path to citizenship.
“It’s looking like a coordinated attack by ICE on our community,” Darrow told The Herald. “Our people in Whatcom and Skagit County have all been on the phone nonstop, so I don’t want to hazard a guess (on how many people have been detained).”
U.S. Rep. Rick Larson released a statement Wednesday regarding Zeferino’s arrest, saying: “In arrests across the country, the Trump Administration and ICE have claimed that they are going after “the worst of the worst” — but there is no indication that Alfredo Juarez Zeferino and the other people detained today represent the worst of the worst. Immigrating to the United States is legal. Union organizing is legal.”
Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund issued a similar statement Wednesday afternoon: “Lelo is a leader in our area whose activism has helped shine a vital spotlight on immigrant and farmworker needs and rights. His voice represents the thousands of people who work in our region providing essential services that sustain us all. He was a valuable contributor to City advisory group activities, in support of our shared goal of maintaining and protecting the rights and dignity of all residents.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 12:47 PM.
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