SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Video circulating around social media this week showed two men being arrested by ICE agents in Spokane Valley.
Jeison Ruiz-Rodriguez and his brother-in-law Cesar Ruiz-Rodriguez were on their way to court for a harassment case.
According to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, both men were arrested for threatening to kill someone and firing a gun into the air at an apartment complex on December 15, 2024. Jeison was charged with harassment while Cesar was charged with harassment, aiming and discharging a firearm as well as unrelated burglary and malicious mischief charges.
Both men posted bond for their charges last month.
They only made it about a block from their Spokane Valley home before the ICE arrest.
Jeison’s pregnant wife Kayla filmed the arrest from inside the car.
“There’s just simply no information,” said Jeison’s attorney Kyle Madsen. “As far as I’m aware, he had never had any prior law enforcement contacts of any kind in the United States.”
Jeison’s lawyers believe local law enforcement helped ICE agents by giving them information about Jeison.
Madsen filed a motion to dismiss the criminal case against Jeison on Friday, because he believes his arrest violates the Keep Washington Working Act.
“I strongly disagree with what happened here,” Madsen said.
Although new laws like the Laken Riley Act have changed the kinds of crimes that could lead to deportation, the Keep Washington Working Act limits local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration officers.
“When something like this happens, it really creates an atmosphere of fear and mistrust and that really impacts all of us. That’s the point of arguing this motion,” said Madsen.
In the motion to dismiss the case, Madsen says he became aware of a report from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office that appeared to link Jeison to a Venezuelan gang, even though he is from Nicaragua. He believes the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office should not have investigated Jeison solely on his national origin and immigration status.
Madsen says he’s not sure if dismissing the criminal charges against Jeison will help in his immigration case.
Madsen is unsure if he will even be able to speak with his client, who is being held at a detention center in Tacoma.
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