ICE arrest and deportation of a Soldotna mother and her children has sparked scrutiny as immigration enforcement expands in Alaska.
The arrest and deportation of a Soldotna family by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has caused scrutiny from lawmakers, faith leaders and immigration advocates across Alaska, while highlighting the growing presence of federal immigration enforcement in the state. ICE agents detained Sonia Espinoza Arriaga and her three children during a targeted vehicle stop in Soldotna on Feb. 17. Arriaga, who is married to a U.S. citizen, had entered the United States with her children in 2023 and had been involved in civil immigration proceedings.
Her husband, Alexander Sanchez-Ramos, told Alaska’s News Source that the family had recently received immigration court paperwork and were working with an attorney when the arrest occurred. ICE later said Arriaga had received a final order of removal on Jan. 13 after failing to appear at an immigration court hearing. Federal officials said agents located her during a vehicle stop and carried out the deportation order. Arriaga and her two younger children, ages five and sixteen, were flown to San Diego the evening of the arrest and taken across the border into Mexico. She later spoke with reporters by phone from Tijuana, where she arrived with the two children.
Her eighteen-year-old son, Alexis, was processed separately as an adult and taken into custody by the Alaska Department of Corrections. State officials confirmed he was held at the Anchorage Correctional Center before being transferred to an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington. Family members said the older children were separated briefly from their mother while paperwork and fingerprinting were completed. ICE maintained that the agency does not separate families in custody and said parents are given the option to keep minor children with them or place them in the care of someone they designate.
The incident prompted political and community response. According to Alaska Public Media, Rep. Andrew Gray, an Anchorage Democrat who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, described the detention of minors by ICE in Alaska as unprecedented and called a hearing to examine the circumstances surrounding the arrest and the broader role of federal immigration enforcement in the state.
Officials told the committee that the Alaska Department of Corrections has a contract with the federal government to temporarily hold immigration detainees in state jail facilities before they are transferred out of state. Representatives from the Department of Public Safety said Alaska State Troopers do not participate in immigration enforcement operations.
The case comes as immigration enforcement activity has increased in Alaska. According to Alaska Dispatch News, the Alaska Department of Corrections held 13 ICE detainees during all of 2024. Between January 2025 and mid-January 2026, that number rose to 99. Because Alaska has no dedicated ICE detention facility, individuals taken into immigration custody are typically held in state jail facilities for several days before being transferred to federal detention centers outside the state, most often the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. If you want to better understand what your basic immigration rights are and what resources may be available, you can learn more in SDMN’s Immigration Guide on our website, soldemedianochenews.org.
