Two Spokane immigrants who sought asylum choose to self-deport

Two Spokane immigrants in the U.S. who sought asylum have chosen to go back to their home countries after spending months in immigration detention.

It’s a similar tale as that of other immigrants in the U.S. who have left in the wake of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Trump has sidestepped typical due process laws and created new barriers to legal immigration, making it much harder for those with visas or other legal documents to remain in the country. Others have left out of fear of being arrested, even though they bear no criminal record.

Such is the story for 21-year-old Cesar Alexander Alvarez Perez, who came to the country after escaping persecution in Venezuela. When he arrived in Spokane, he began to attend church and obtained a job at the Walmart in Airway Heights.

His time in Spokane was short-lived after he was arrested at the Immigration and U.S. Customs Enforcement office off West Cataldo Avenue in North Spokane during a routine check-in, although he also bears no criminal record. Perez came to the states through a legal program known as the Venezuelan Humanitarian Parole Program, or the “CHNV” program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. It allowed for immigrants facing persecution to legally live and work “under parole” with a sponsor, or a legally appointed guardian to help guide them while living in the U.S.

Recently, Trump terminated that program to continue his effort of mass deportations.

Perez’s U.S. sponsor, former city council President Ben Stuckart, wrote on Facebook Thursday morning that Perez chose to self-deport rather than stay in a cell.

“He was working full time, had created a community here and then was detained (in chains). He was sent to stay in a cell (run by a for profit company) for 3 months and was treated poorly (like a criminal). Reports released last week detail the inhumane conditions of the Tacoma detention facility, and confirmed the stories Cesar frequently shared with us,” Stuckart wrote. “He is now being sent back to a horrible place he spent years escaping. The decisions being made today have very real consequences for very real, beautiful humans and it makes me so sad, angry and discouraged.”

Stuckart declined requests to comment further.

When Perez was arrested in June, he was also arrested with his friend, 28-year-old Joswar Slater Rodriguez Torres, who met Cesar in Colombia in the middle of their trek to seek asylum in the U.S.

The men’s detainment sparked Spokane’s largest anti-ICE protest on June 11 that netted more than 30 arrests, led to a citywide curfew and prompted federal prosecutors to charge nine protesters with crimes related to the protest. Stuckart, who showed up to prevent ICE from taking Perez and Torres, was arrested and accused of blocking the transport bus that carried them to the detention center in Tacoma.

“When did empathy for others begin to be seen as a weakness? When did we forget we are a nation built on immigration? When did those in power forget they are here to serve the people, not to protect their privilege?” Stuckart wrote on Facebook. “Oh poor Cesar and may he be protected in his journey and surrounded in light.”

Torres, who is nicknamed “Randy,” is still being held in the detainment center in Tacoma. His sponsor, former Republican Spokane County commissioner Shelly O’Quinn, told The Spokesman-Review at the time the stories of Perez and Torres deserve to be told, because “they have demonstrated their American values of hard work and integrity,” O’Quinn said – they shouldn’t become political pawns in a battle with red or blue.

O’Quinn said via text message Thursday that Torres is still waiting for another immigration hearing to decide how to proceed, but that they remain hopeful for him.

A month before Torres and Perez were detained, however, a Ferris High School student was arrested by ICE. He self-deported earlier this month after being in ICE’s custody since May.

An asylum seeker from Guatemala, Dylan “Alex” Alexander Saquic Lopez lived with his uncle the past year in Spokane while attending Ferris. Two weeks after his 18th birthday, he was detained at a regularly scheduled immigration enforcement meeting.

According to his former teacher, Lopez was denied bond on August 11 and decided to return to Guatemala rather than remain in ICE custody and fight deportation. The teen had left Guatemala because a gang threatened to kill him. He traveled north through Mexico and claimed asylum at the United States border in Arizona in 2024.

English-as-a-second-language teacher Clay Elliott said the prospect of indefinite ICE custody was too difficult for Lopez.

“After being denied bond, he could have gone back to detention or voluntary deport. Despite concerns for his safety, he decided that was the better option,” Elliott said.

After his detainment, a GoFundMe raised more than $15,000 to pay for his legal expenses. According to Elliott, the remainder of the funds raised will be used to establish Lopez in a different region of Guatemala from where he was threatened.

“He was so grateful for all the support and happy that people cared. The silver lining is he was looking forward to seeing his mom. Hopefully the remainder of the GoFundMe can get him established in as safe a place as is possible in Guatemala.”

The teen’s uncle Francis Lopez confirmed his nephew is in Guatemala but declined to comment.

With the new school year starting next week, Elliott is concerned ICE may detain more of his students trying to get an education in Spokane.

“This is the beginning. There will be more cases like this. I take comfort that the community cares about kids like Alex. But he will be missed. And his absence will undoubtedly have a chilling effect on our community,” he said. “We were much better off having him here.”