BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The owner of a local coffee shop is among dozens from Whatcom County that have been detained by ICE in recent months.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson confirmed to My Bellingham Now that ICE arrested Oscar Quintero Frias at Sea-Tac Airport on Sept. 15.
DHS says Quintero Frias lawfully entered the US from Colombia in February 2021, but only had permission to stay for six months.
Quintero Frias and his wife own a Columbian specialty coffee shop on Cornwall Avenue called Cof& (pronounced coffee). He told MBN in a previous story about their business that his wife and daughter were potential targets of kidnapping, which spurred their exit from Colombia.
Quintero Frias helped get the cafe off the ground before returning to his job as an electrical engineer.
Quintero Frias’ family has started the process of meeting with immigration lawyers and securing a potential immigration bond. According to reporting from Cascadia Daily News, his family says he is a lawful permanent resident, but not a U.S. citizen.
A GoFundMe set up on his behalf has raised nearly $60,000 to cover legal fees and detention-related expenses during the process.
“Quintero Frias will receive due process and remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his immigration proceedings,” a DHS spokesperson told MBN in an email. “To be clear: a pending application does NOT confer legal status in the United States.” (emphasis theirs)
According to statistics from the Deportation Data Project, there were 60 ICE arrests made in Whatcom County between June 1 and Aug. 4.
That included a significant spike with 36 arrests in June, reflecting the most the county has seen in a single month since the group began tracking data in 2022.
