After the hearing, Lewelyn Dixon’s family greeted the crowd with the news that she would be released.
Lauren Gallup / NWPB
Lewelyn Dixon, her family and a growing community of supporters received good news Thursday afternoon — Dixon would be released from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.
The decision came during a hearing inside the center. While the court was in session, supporters of Dixon gathered outside to protest her detention and call for her release.
Cheers erupted from the crowd and tears streamed down people’s faces when the news of her release broke.
After the hearing, Dixon’s family walked outside to speak to those gathered.
“ I think the biggest thing to realize with the release is that she should have never been in there in the first place,” said her niece, Emily Cristobal.
Dixon, a 64-year-old resident of Washington, has lived in the U.S. since her family moved here when she was 14. She was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the end of February after returning from a trip to the Philippines, where she was born.
She was then taken to the Northwest ICE Processing Center, where was detained.
Dixon lives in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident, commonly known as a green card holder.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which conducts administrative proceedings to determine whether an individual will be allowed to stay in the U.S., responded via email that it does not comment on immigration judge decisions.
Related: Green card holders, travelers caught in Trump's immigration crackdown
Noah Ajeto, steering committee member of the Tanggol Migrante Network in Washington, one of the groups that organized the rally, said Dixon’s rights were violated.
“We are really seeing that she’s a victim of the current Trump administration, where we have seen unprecedented amount of migrants that are being deported and detained to meet the government’s quota,” Ajeto said.
There has been a rise in the number of people detained at the federal detention center in Tacoma.
“They’re really breaking up families,” Ajeto said. “The amount of distress that they’re causing to these different families has been very abhorrent.”
Dixon’s family, her union and people from across the U.S. have fought for her release since she was first detained. Dixon works as a lab technician for UW Medicine and is a member of the Service Employees International Union Local 925.
“They’re trying to divide workers and divide people in this country and we’re gonna continue to show up in unity,” said Tricia Schroeder, president of the local.
Schroeder said the union had to fight to keep Dixon’s job for her. That struggle has made the union determined to set precedent on how the university responds if another employee is detained
“She’s not gonna be the last person that this happens to,” Schroeder said.
The union penned a petition to protect UW employees’ jobs if they are detained.
Cristobal thanked those who came to the rally.
“I think what’s so amazing with this is that this started with our family, but it has grown into such a movement and it’s knowing that it’s much bigger than just us. It’s for everyone who is in detention right now unjustly and knowing that the work is not over,” Cristobal said.
Lauren Gallup is a reporter with Northwest Public Broadcasting. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
