In the unincorporated Skagit County hamlet of Conway, where 87 people lived according to the 2020 U.S. Census, Juan Alatorre Martinez has become the focus of a community campaign after federal immigration agents detained him in July. KIRO 7 News reported that agents took the longtime resident into custody at his workplace. He is now being held at an immigration detention facility in Tacoma while his case proceeds.
Martinez, who is originally from Mexico and has lived and worked in Conway for more than two decades, is awaiting a green card, according to KIRO 7 News. Martinez and his attorney say ICE detained the wrong person. DHS has said the agency targeted him because of two prior arrests — one for driving with a suspended license and another for supplying or permitting minors to consume liquor.
In comments reported by the station, Martinez said the agents were not physically forceful but surrounded him at work before taking him into custody. He also described difficult conditions at the detention facility, including what he said was poor food and water, as he awaits further legal proceedings.
A Small Town Mobilizes
Conway's 2020 Census population of 87 makes it one of Skagit County's smallest census-designated places. The community's response has included public advocacy, fundraising for legal fees and efforts to find additional legal help, according to the station's report.
Several Conway residents have spoken in support of Martinez, with some describing him as a longtime presence in the community and others saying they recognized the difficulties he faces. A GoFundMe has been established to help cover his legal fees, and Martinez has expressed appreciation for the support from people he has known for years, KIRO 7 reported.
Timing Amid a Record Enforcement Surge
Martinez's July detention came as nationwide ICE arrests reached a record monthly peak of 49,571, according to TRAC Immigration data reported by Hoodline. Washington's Keep Washington Working Act limits local participation in federal civil immigration enforcement. The arrest was carried out by federal agents, and Skagit County law enforcement did not participate, according to the Washington State Office of the Attorney General.
What Washington law allows
According to the Washington State Attorney General's Office, the Keep Washington Working Act limits local participation in federal civil immigration enforcement but does not restrict agencies from enforcing state and local law. The law also requires Washington law enforcement agencies either to adopt policies consistent with the attorney general's model guidance or notify the office that they are using other policies designed to comply with the law. The immigration process has separate tracks as well. The U.S. Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review explains that an immigration bond proceeding is separate from the underlying removal proceeding. That distinction is relevant as Martinez's attorney challenges the detention and Martinez awaits proceedings while his green-card application remains pending.
Skagit County's agricultural sector, which spans roughly 90,000 acres and generates about $350 million in annual economic output, has leaned heavily on migrant farmworkers even as that labor pool shrank 23 percent between 2017 and 2022, per Hoodline's earlier reporting. Martinez's two decades in Conway place him squarely within that long-tenured immigrant workforce now facing intensified federal scrutiny.
Conditions Inside the Tacoma Facility Draw Scrutiny
Martinez's complaints about poor food and water echo broader concerns raised about the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, where he is being held. A federal judge ordered in July that the facility allow state health and safety inspections following thousands of detainee complaints, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Research from the University of Washington's Center for Human Rights, cited in that same report, documented over 3,500 detainee complaints and 172 separate reports of alleged sexual abuse or assault at the facility between 2015 and 2025.
The scrutiny follows months of state-federal legal conflict. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown sued private operator The GEO Group in April after state health inspectors were turned away from the facility 10 times, according to the Washington Governor's Office. The office said inspectors were turned away twice even after an appeals court affirmed the state's inspection authority. The legal push followed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision in March to lift an injunction that had blocked state health standards from applying to private detention centers such as Tacoma's.
Congressional pressure predates Martinez's detention by months. In December 2025, Washington representatives including Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell formally demanded ICE address overcrowding and inadequate services at the Tacoma facility, where detainee numbers were then approaching its 1,575-person capacity, according to the Office of Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. Separately, Cascade PBS has reported that DHS signed a short-term contract this year with GEO Group that relaxed certain medical response timelines at the facility and shifted potential lawsuit liability onto federal taxpayers.
What Comes Next
Martinez has a hearing scheduled for October 8, according to KIRO 7's report. His attorney's mistaken-identity claim may be addressed as the case proceeds, while friends and neighbors continue raising money and seeking legal help.
