Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested at least two workers at a Lynden seafood processing plant on July 22 after posing as members of a religious organization handing out free water bottles on one of the hottest days of summer. The incident is the latest in a series of enforcement actions targeting Premier Packing that advocates say have resulted in at least 50 detentions over the past four months.
How the July 22 Arrest Happened
On a day when temperatures in Whatcom County reached some of the summer's highest levels, employees at Premier Packing, a seafood processing facility in Lynden, crossed the street to accept water being offered by what appeared to be volunteers from a religious group. ICE officers then appeared and gave chase, arresting at least two workers on their way off the property.
Video of the incident, recorded by Jeremy Dorrough, executive director of Racial Unity Now, a Lynden-based advocacy group, shows people running as agents pursue them. The video has circulated widely in local immigration advocacy networks. Dorrough shared footage and described the incident as a deliberate lure designed to draw workers off the plant's property, where they would have fewer legal protections.
"The activity isn't slowing down, it's only ramping up," Dorrough said. "It involves what I consider to be risky tactics, pulling people over on the side of the road."
A Pattern of Enforcement Over Four Months
Advocates say the July 22 incident is not an isolated event. According to Racial Unity Now, immigration enforcement agents have targeted Premier Packing workers in a sustained pattern over the past four months, arresting at least 50 people on their way to and from work. Rather than conducting a formal workplace raid, which carries specific legal requirements, agents have consistently used approaches that intercept workers outside the plant's perimeter: traffic stops, street-level arrests, and now, advocates say, deceptive lures.
Traffic stops are a commonly used detainment tool for ICE in the current enforcement environment. At the beginning of July, immigration agents nationally began increasing the number of arrests at immigration check-ins, traffic stops, and on the street. Two immigrants in Texas and Maine were shot and killed during ICE traffic stops in mid-July, prompting reports that the method might be reconsidered. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on July 16 that the Trump administration continues to support and encourage vehicle arrests.
Premier Packing is a seafood processing plant in Lynden, a small city of approximately 15,000 people in northern Whatcom County with a large agricultural and food processing workforce. The plant processes seafood and employs workers from the local immigrant community, many of whom have lived and worked in the Lynden area for years. The broader Lynden economy includes significant dairy, poultry, and produce processing operations that depend heavily on immigrant labor.
The Legal and Community Context
Lynden is home to Racial Unity Now, which Dorrough founded as a community bridge-building organization that has increasingly pivoted to direct immigration advocacy as enforcement activity has intensified in Whatcom County's agricultural communities. The group has been documenting incidents at Premier Packing and providing know-your-rights information to workers and families.
The use of deceptive tactics in enforcement operations is not prohibited by federal law, though civil rights attorneys and immigration advocates argue that such approaches undermine trust between immigrant communities and public institutions, including law enforcement agencies that are not involved in immigration enforcement. Whatcom County has a mixed jurisdictional landscape, with the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, the Blaine Sector of U.S. Border Patrol, and ICE all operating in the same geographic area under different authorities and mandates.
Washington State has enacted limitations on local law enforcement cooperation with immigration enforcement under state law, but federal agencies like ICE operate independently of those restrictions and can conduct enforcement in public spaces and near workplaces without local law enforcement participation.
What Advocates and Families Are Asking For
Community organizations working with affected families are urging workers to know their rights when approached by any law enforcement official. Individuals have the right to remain silent and to request an attorney regardless of immigration status. Organizations across Whatcom County have been distributing wallet cards and running workshops on what to do during an immigration encounter.
The ACLU of Washington and local immigration attorneys have been fielding increased calls from Whatcom County residents since the enforcement activity at Premier Packing began. Families of detained workers often face immediate practical hardships, including loss of income, housing instability, and the need to arrange childcare for U.S.-citizen children while parents are held in detention.
Anyone seeking immigration legal assistance in Whatcom County can contact the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project or reach out to Racial Unity Now for community resource referrals. For related prior coverage of immigration enforcement in the region, see earlier reporting on federal legal proceedings affecting Northwest Washington communities.
