For Alberto Lovo Rojas, a Nicaraguan asylum seeker, that meant living in constant fear. He feared that immigration authorities in the United States would arrest him at any time. He bent over backwards to do the right thing and go through immigration channels, showing up on time for check-ups every week. Then, on February 8, 2025, life took a frightening turn. His case illustrates the wave of deportations that are currently taking place under the present administration. This case highlights the due process implications of the indiscriminate enforcement practices employed by immigration agents.
Fleeing the violence Rising violence and political unrest forced Lovo Rojas to leave Nicaragua in September 2018 with his uncle, arriving in Nicaragua’s northern neighbor Honduras. After endless travel involving hiding, dodging, and crossing through Honduras and Guatemala, they reached the US-Mexico border. On 20 July 2019, a judge ruled against his application for asylum. This ruling resulted in his ongoing detention while his attorneys worked to secure an appellate ruling. He was then remanded to incarceration until his release on supervision. Nonetheless, he endured a week in a hielera, a cold, windowless holding cell operated by Customs and Border Protection.
“As horrible as my case was,” said Lovo Rojas. Though I never broke an immigration law, I too lived in fear. But I am not a criminal.” Additionally, he shared his concerns with the increasing rate of incarceration in the immigration system. According to reports, approximately 1,400 people were arrested during or after they reported in to the agency.
The previous administration’s policy direction toward “mass deportations” pushed the agency to become more aggressive with their enforcement. In February 2025, the U.S. witnessed an all-time record wave of immigration arrests. This sudden increase set monthly records not reached in seven years. Yet Lovo Rojas’s apprehension is the tip of the iceberg of this national trend that has created a chilling effect on many in the same situation.
Lovo Rojas continued to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) every week like clockwork. In fact, “I even texted the ICE liaison through my app to tell them that something must be wrong,” he remembered. But no amount of compliance could protect him from the unforgiving immigration system. What his eventual arrest only heightened was his feeling of betrayal.
Marcus Riccelli, a Democratic state representative from Spokane, heard Lovo Rojas’s story and was struck by her plight. He championed the cause and increased funding for counsel. Riccelli was able to intervene by assisting Lovo Rojas’s family in filing emergency paperwork to temporarily halt his deportation. “We were expecting the news he was back…” said Susy Glamuzina, a close friend of Lovo Rojas. I could recruit 20 fellow Tacoma residents in an hour to submit their own emotional testimony on his behalf. We can’t wait to have you join us!
The emotional, mental, and physical impact on Lovo Rojas has been acute. He continued, “I felt deep anguish, sorrow to see mothers cry for their children. As his lawyers go to file a motion to reopen his asylum case, his family has been trying to stay calm and hope for the best.
Lovo Rojas’ wife, Denis, pleaded for humanitarian release because of her husband’s poor health while in detention. “Every day, I watch my husband lose weight in detention,” she stated. She began by recounting the traumatic experiences that many detainees face. The psychological and physical strain of being separated from family and friends across the world complicates his trauma further.
As his legal team works diligently to navigate the complexities of the asylum process, Lovo Rojas remains steadfast in his resolve to stay in the United States. I never imagined that he has the first baby born here,” Glamuzina underlined. This idealistic and personal connection to the local community captures the deep ties that weld Lovo Rojas to his home base.