New data sheds light on ICE arrests in King County. Here’s what we know so far.

Published 9:07 pm Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Of the 1,019 arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported in King County in 2025, at least 25 arrests are listed as taking place in Federal Way, according to data from the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights (UWCHR).

The UWCHR report is drawn from a release of I-213 forms as part of an ongoing settlement, and is summarized in a report titled “New Data on PNW Immigration Enforcement Reveal Powerful Surge in Late 2025.” I-213 documents are records of the apprehension of non-citizens.

According to the report, the majority of these arrests were of individuals with no criminal charges. The accuracy of this city specificity depends on the accuracy of I-213 forms that were filled out by ICE officers, which means they are subject to error. But it still adds to the overall picture of what activity is taking place in the community.

Phil Neff, research coordinator for UWCHR, told the Federal Way Mirror that much of what they know about how local ICE agents are inputting these forms comes from court documents in Oregon, which describe agents filling out forms at their hotels at the end of the day. Neff clarified that this is a slightly different circumstance because those agents were sent to the region from other areas of the country.

“Whatever agent is filling out the form inputs that value, and we can see in the data sometimes there are idiosyncratic typos and stuff in certain entries, which suggests they’ve just been putting it in by hand,” Neff said.

While the individual forms are not yet released to the public, the data is available for the public to view.

Information in the database is specific in some ways and vague in others. It includes marital status, number of children, occupation, age, criminal history (or lack thereof) and more of the individual who was arrested. What it doesn’t include is what city that individual calls home, or many details about the exact location where they were apprehended.

Less than 10% of workers who live in Federal Way are actually employed within city limits, and over 20,000 people commute into Federal Way from other cities to work, according to the Greater Federal Way Chamber of Commerce.

This means that while ICE arrest data is hard to pin down to the city specifically, looking at the regional data can be more useful when getting a picture of likely ICE activity’s impact on the Federal Way community.

In South King County overall (including totals from Algona, Auburn, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, SeaTac and Tukwila), 493 people were arrested by ICE in 2025, compared to 282 arrested in the same areas in 2022.

According to the report, 345 were described as either noncustodial arrests or “located,” which mean the same thing, and indicates they were apprehended on the street rather than being handed off to another organization.

When community members have raised concerns around ICE activity and enforcement, Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell and Federal Way Police Chief Andy Hwang have repeated versions of the following statements from a Feb. 3 council meeting:

“To my understanding there’s been no ICE activity in Federal Way,” Ferrell said.

“That’s correct, Mayor. Up to this point, we’ve not had an immigration custom enforcement operation that we’re aware of,” Chief Hwang confirmed.

When presented with the recently disclosed I-213 data, Hwang clarified via email on March 18: “I am not aware of a single Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ‘operation’ that has taken place within the city limits of Federal Way. That said, this does not mean that no arrests or detainments have occurred involving agents assigned to ICE.”

Hwang said that the FWPD has received reports alleging ICE presence within city limits, which ultimately were determined to be “unfounded and ultimately involved other local, state, or federal agencies conducting law enforcement activity.”

ICE agent sightings have been frequently reported on social media platforms, but ICE has not responded to requests from the Mirror to confirm or deny these reports.

Several anecdotal reports have been shared with the Mirror that detail the impact of Federal Way family members being detained or deported, including at least one incident that took place in Federal Way, but there is no official confirmation of the details of these incidents.

Ferrell reviewed the data and report and said on March 19 that “while we can’t confirm the data, we now know ICE agents may have arrested people in Federal Way without our knowledge.”

“As one of the most diverse cities in the country, this issue is deeply important to many members of our community. We remain firmly committed to maintaining a safe, welcoming environment for everyone who calls Federal Way home, especially those who may feel vulnerable or uncertain during times like these,” Ferrell said. “It is important to me that Federal Way continues to be the inclusive and welcoming community it has always been.”

While the data shows a surge in late 2025 of ICE arrests, no data has been available yet to detail what 2026 has looked like so far. From anecdotal reports, Neff said the arrest rate has seemed to slow down, but that it is hard to say for sure without any access to official records.