Juanita High School theater manager detained by ICE
A Lake Washington School District employee was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week, according to his attorney, the school district and parents.
Fernando Rocha is the theater manager at Juanita High School in Kirkland and was an important member of the school’s community, according to parents. One member of a parent Facebook group said Rocha was an amazing mentor to her son.
“We are aware that one of our employees appears to have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” wrote Collin Sullivan, a spokesperson for the school district, in a statement. “We have been in contact with the employee to provide appropriate employment documentation.”
“Due to privacy considerations, we are limited in what we can share, but we are monitoring the situation closely,” the statement continued, adding that the district completes federal employment eligibility forms for all new hires, including citizens and noncitizens. It was not clear Tuesday how long Rocha had worked for the district.
Rocha entered the United States in August 2018 on a tourist visa, according to Rocha’s attorney, Adolfo Ojeda. Before the visa expired he applied for asylum in February 2019 and has a “valid pending asylum claim,” Ojeda said.
“Technically it is legally possible he could be denied but until it’s heard, it’s validly pending, it was filed within the one year deadline, which is a requirement, it was filed before his visa expired. So from simple analysis, he did everything right,” Ojeda added.
ICE Seattle posted on X that Rocha, 45, is a citizen of Brazil and is wanted in Brazil for theft.
Ojeda found out Tuesday morning about the allegation of theft. “I was a little bit flabbergasted,” Ojeda said. “The family said it was outlandish.” Ojeda said for now he has to take the family at their word but he would look into the allegations from Brazil.
Rose Cano, a longtime actor and director in the Seattle theater scene, had hired Rocha to act in her upcoming show Pariah at the New Skid Road Theater, which is planned to open Aug. 9.
She said she feels panic for Rocha, his family and her own loved ones.
Cano is a naturalized citizen herself so began to wonder, “Who in our family should carry some type of documentation? I can’t believe it has come to this in this country.”
“I’m trying to see how I can help him,” Cano said. “He is such a great, hardworking guy.”
A bond hearing for Rocha is scheduled for July 29. In the interim, he’s at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, according to Ojeda.
State Sen. Manka Dhingra, who represents constituents in the Kirkland area, was contacted by concerned Juanita High School parents Friday.
Dhingra reached out to U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene’s office to see how she might be able to help Rocha to ensure his rights are not violated.
“We wanted to make sure we are protecting people’s due process rights,” Dhingra said. “Given what is happening nationally about people with legal status basically being taken off our streets by masked individuals, I wanted to make sure he was connected to the right resources.”