14-year-old witnesses father's ICE arrest during traffic stop on I-5 near Chehalis

yahoo.com · By Sharon Yoo · 2026-07-14T22:14:42Z

A Lewis County family says a 14-year-old boy witnessed federal immigration agents arrest his father during a traffic stop on Interstate 5 as the pair drove to a job site in late June.The arrest happened June 27 after Ezequiel Pacas Sr. and his son stopped at a paint store in Chehalis to pick up supplies before heading north to a painting job, according to the family.Video recorded during the stop shows agents identifying themselves as immigration officers."Ezequiel?" an agent can be heard asking. "Who are you?" says Ezequiel Sr. "We're with Immigration. We have a warrant for your arrest. Go ahead and step out of your vehicle," an agent can be heard responding in the video.Pacas' 14-year-old son, Ezequiel Jr., said he was overwhelmed by what was happening."My dad was telling me to record, but I was shook. I didn't know what to do," he said.The arrest came during a period when immigration advocates and attorneys reported a noticeable increase in ICE arrests across western Washington. The Department of Homeland Security recently implemented a nationwide target of 2,000 ICE arrests per day, according to reporting by The New York Times.Ezequiel Jr. said he believes his father recognized the vehicles following them before agents conducted the stop near Little Rock."My dad was speeding up because he knew it was ICE and then they eventually caught up," he said. "One pulled up behind us, and the other one pulled up going in front of us really fast. Then they came out with guns drawn, yelling and everything."After receiving her husband's location from her son, Kassondra Pacas rushed to the scene.She said agents told her her husband was being arrested because he was in the country illegally, but she was not shown any paperwork."They never showed me a warrant. They never showed me anything. That was all the information they gave me on that," she said.Pacas explained her husband has a juvenile record and had served time for a felony before they met. That was more than 20 years ago, and she says he hasn't gotten into legal trouble since.Pacas, a 37-year-old contractor, is now being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.The arrest comes amid heightened scrutiny of ICE enforcement operations nationwide. Kassondra said recent fatal shooting deaths of people interacting with ICE officers have left her conflicted about her husband's detention."Every time I speak to my husband, the day he was detained and every opportunity I get, 'I'm just so lucky they took your body physically away from us, but they didn't take your life,'" she said.The couple's four children are all U.S. citizens, but Kassondra says the family has struggled emotionally since the arrest."Nothing's gonna happen to us, but we're just living in a constant state of fear," she said. "One, being alone by myself with all the kids. And two, are they picking people up based on just looks? All my kids are dark-haired, tan-skinned, so it's just scary right now."According to the family, Pacas is scheduled to appear in immigration court in Tacoma on Wednesday morning. The family has a fundraiser set up to help with legal fees.