Tukwila man turned over to ICE after he called 911 on burglar



SEATTLE -- Monday night's Tukwila city council meeting is expected to be filled with immigration advocates following a man's arrest after he called 911 for help.

Our news partner The Seattle Times reports that a 32-year-old man was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement last Thursday after he called police to report a car prowling happening on his Tukwila property.

Wilson Rodriguez Macarreno came to the U.S. illegally from Honduras 14 years ago.

“This is beyond ineptitude. How is it possible that Tukwila officials turn in a resident who called them for assistance? This only further corrodes any confidence that immigrant community members have in law enforcement,” said Juan Jose Bocanegra, an organizer for the Seattle-based El Comite, an Immigrant Rights Group.

Upon arriving on the scene, officers ran Macarreno's name through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, which is standard protocol, the Seattle Police Department and King County Sheriff's Office spokesman told The Times.

What isn't typical is for authorities to act on immigration information in the database.

In response to the incident, advocates and community members have called upon the City of Tukwila and the police department to take a definite step in protecting the community. Activists have also made it a point to urge the city to officially attain “Sanctuary City” designation.

Tukwila police say officers will now have to check with a supervisor when they see an ICE warrant pop up in the database, rather than call ICE.

Macarreno is currently being held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.

Authorities did find the accused car prowler, but did not arrest him because they didn't have probable cause.

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