{"id":49469,"date":"2026-07-30T12:15:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T19:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49469"},"modified":"2026-07-30T12:15:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T19:15:07","slug":"disgusting-dem-senator-says-ice-threatened-to-beat-seattle-business-owner-unless-he-signed-deportation-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/30\/disgusting-dem-senator-says-ice-threatened-to-beat-seattle-business-owner-unless-he-signed-deportation-form\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Disgusting\u2019: Dem Senator Says ICE Threatened to Beat Seattle Business Owner Unless He Signed Deportation Form"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/a-masked-us-customs-and-border-protection-agent-is-seen-as-residents-confront-law-enforcement-in-the-brighton-park-neighborhood.jpg?id=67553111&amp;width=1200&amp;height=400&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=0%2C14%2C0%2C328\" alt=\"'Disgusting': Dem Senator Says ICE Threatened to Beat Seattle Business Owner Unless He Signed Deportation Form\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A masked US Customs and Border Protection agent is seen as residents confront law enforcement in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, on on October 4, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0(Photo by Octavio Jones\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cWhat ICE is doing is illegal and disturbing.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/brad-reed\">Brad Reed<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jul 29, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sen. Patty Murray on Wednesday accused federal&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/immigration\">immigration<\/a>&nbsp;enforcement officials of attempting to coerce a longtime Seattle resident to sign a voluntary deportation form using threats of violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/murray.senate.gov\/post\/3mrshtc3emk2a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video<\/a>&nbsp;posted on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/social-media\">social media<\/a>, Murray (D-Wash.) delivered an update on Eduardo Aguirre Esparza, who was detained by US&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/immigration-and-customs-enforcement\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a>&nbsp;(ICE) agents last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RECOMMENDED&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/day-of-action-for-people-killed-by-ice\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/anti-ice-protesters-carry-cardboard-coffins-in-downtown-los-angeles.jpg?id=67538143&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=833%2C0%2C833%2C0\" alt=\"Anti-ICE protesters carry cardboard coffins in downtown Los Angeles\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/day-of-action-for-people-killed-by-ice\">\u2018We Will Not Forget Them\u2019: Nationwide Vigils Demand Justice for People Killed by ICE<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/susan-collins-ice\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/officials-identify-man-killed-by-ice-in-maine-and-security-footage-shows-shooting-s-aftermath.jpg?id=67154941&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=315%2C0%2C316%2C0\" alt=\"Officials identify man killed by ICE in Maine, and security footage shows shooting's aftermath\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/susan-collins-ice\">Susan Collins \u2018Must Be Held Accountable for Funding This Terror,\u2019 Says Troy Jackson After ICE Killing<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The senator said that Aguirre Esparza, whom she described as \u201ca local Seattle small business owner with no criminal history\u201d and the husband of a US citizen, was taken to an ICE office in Tukwila,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/washington\">Washington<\/a>, where he was held in a room for 10 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">ICE agents threatened to beat up a Seattle small business owner, married to a citizen, with NO criminal record unless he signed a &quot;voluntary&quot; departure. <br><br>I&#39;m told there were cameras in the room. <br><br>I&#39;m demanding any video and that Eduardo be brought home immediately. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jMpYSh08WC\">https:\/\/t.co\/jMpYSh08WC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1GViRDhbmU\">pic.twitter.com\/1GViRDhbmU<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PattyMurray\/status\/2082521459373535282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 29, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe was surrounded by 20 ICE agents, who were pressuring him to sign a voluntary departure,\u201d said Murray. \u201cThey physically pushed him and threatened to beat him up if he didn\u2019t sign it. This is disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Murray said that she has learned that there are security cameras in the room where Aguirre Esparza was being held, and she demanded that ICE hand over any footage in its possession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat ICE is doing is illegal and disturbing,\u201d Murray emphasized. \u201cEduardo is now being held in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/texas\">Texas<\/a>, away from his family and his lawyers. I am demanding that [the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/us-department-of-homeland-security\">US Department of Homeland Security<\/a>] return Eduardo to Washington state now so he can get the due process everyone should expect in America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a separate statement, Murray&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.murray.senate.gov\/senator-murray-calls-on-ice-to-stop-deportation-of-seattle-small-business-owner-return-him-to-washington-state\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>&nbsp;that Aguirre Esparza has \u201cdeep ties to our local community\u201d and \u201cwas working hard to pursue a legal pathway to lawful permanent residence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/reichlinmelnick.bsky.social\/post\/3mrsilocqoc2g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">commented<\/a>&nbsp;that Murray\u2019s account of Aguirre Esparza\u2019s detention \u201cis a good reminder that some \u2018voluntary\u2019 departures people sign while detained by ICE are the product of coercion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe worst incidents I\u2019ve heard of over the years involve agents grabbing a person\u2019s hands and forcing them to sign a piece of paper they can\u2019t read,\u201d Reichlin-Melnick added. \u201cIt\u2019s a \u2018voluntary\u2019 removal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/brad-reed\">Brad Reed<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brad Reed is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/brad-reed\">Full Bio &gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A masked US Customs and Border Protection agent is seen as residents confront law enforcement in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, on on October 4, 2025. \u00a0(Photo by Octavio Jones\/AFP via Getty Images) \u201cWhat ICE is doing is illegal and disturbing.\u201d Brad Reed Jul 29, 2026 (CommonDreams.org) Sen&#8230;. <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/30\/disgusting-dem-senator-says-ice-threatened-to-beat-seattle-business-owner-unless-he-signed-deportation-form\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2004],"tags":[2310],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49469"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49469"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49470,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49469\/revisions\/49470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}