Family Broken By ICE: Local Teacher Trying To Save Brother

BELLEVUE, WA — Just before sunrise on a Wednesday two weeks ago, Salvador Gomez awoke to the sound of loud knocking on the door of his parent’s house in Basin City, an unincorporated community of about 1,000 north of the Tri-Cities.

When Gomez opened the door, he saw what looked like police standing there. He soon recognized that the men were Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. They were there, they told Gomez, to arrest his 29-year-old brother, Leo.

“When I asked why they're looking for him, they said, ‘We have a warrant for his arrest’” Gomez, 25, recalls. “I asked why and they said, ‘He is here illegally.’”

That was the beginning of sudden nightmare for Gomez and his family. Now, Gomez, a 6th-grade teacher at Highland Middle School in Bellevue, is scrambling to help his family deal with the threat of deportation.

But he’s getting help. A group of teachers from Highland have started a fundraiser. The teachers and other members of the local community have raised about $6,000 so far. The money will go toward a legal fund for Leo Gomez, and they hope to raise at least $8,000.

“We want to make sure we can do what we can,” said Highland teacher Zack Daniels. He started the fundraiser for Gomez, who he calls a “critical friend" at school.

The ICE agents whom Gomez met on June 27 tried to get into his parents’ home to arrest Leo. Gomez refused. As the agents went to walk away, one turned to Gomez and told him they had his mother detained nearby.

“They said it with a big grin on their face, and my heart just sank,” Gomez recalls.

His mother had gone out that morning around 4 a.m. to the nearby city of Othello. Gomez and his father tried calling her and got no answer. They headed out into the small town to look for her, finding her car empty along a local road.

Eventually, Gomez’ mother called Leo. She told him the ICE agents would let her go if he turned himself in.

Leo Gomez came to the U.S. from Mexico with his parents when he was 1, but eight years ago he was charged with DUI. The case was closed in 2014, according to Franklin County District Court records. ICE has specifically targeted undocumented people with criminal records — no matter what the crime, or how long ago it occurred.

Leo Gomez did turn himself in that day, and ICE did let his mother go. He was taken to jail in Yakima where he was held until June 29. Then, he was taken to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. The family posted $6,000 bond on July 3 to get him out.

The family is in the process of finding a lawyer and figuring out the next steps in the court process. Leo Gomez majored in automotive technology at Columbia Basin College and became a mechanic. He works in Basin City at a NAPA Auto Parts store.

Living far from Basin City in Seattle, Salvador Gomez of course worries about what's going to happen to his brother, but he’s thankful to have a community of teachers nearby for support.

“It’s unnecessary to put people through this when they're hardworking and honest,” Daniels said. “They get put through this because of some shifting government policies that don't get applied consistently.”

“My Highland community from Bellevue is very supportive,” Gomez said. “They're a wonderful family with big hearts.”

Learn more about the fundraiser for Leo Gomez here.

Caption: Leodegario Gomez and his wife, Mirna.

Image via GoFundMe, a Patch promotional partner