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'We are at war': Fear grips immigrant communities as World Refugee Day comes to Everett

Advocates say 128 immigrants were taken into custody by ICE on Thursday.

EVERETT, Wash — It was a harsh welcome to America for 8-month-old Keana.

She received two vaccinations Friday from Snohomish County health workers at the annual World Refugee Day observance.

Life for her parents here is no less sharp.

"We are a little bit worried about the situation with the new administration with mass deportations," said Keana's father, Rudis, through an interpreter.

The couple and their four children are applying for asylum from Venezuela.

"There is a lot of violence because of the economy," Rudis said. "We are limited with food. It makes it hard to live and provide for our families."

Refugee Day is an annual event in Everett. Typically, people gather inside the community college with song and food.

This year's was decidedly different. The event moved into a parking lot to evade potential immigration raids. 

Some people chose to stay close to their cars, just in case.

"The refugee or asylum seekers will be able to escape," said Van Kuno, who organized the event. "We have an escape route for them."

Kuno runs Northwest Refugee and Immigration Services, the only organization like it in the state.

Immigrant communities are living in constant fear.

"If I was able to measure the fear it be off the scale," said Kuno.

A helicopter briefly circled over the event Friday. It could have belong to anyone, but in this setting, to many it felt ominous.

"It feels like we are at war," said Kuno.

Everett is a "sanctuary city," meaning it limits its cooperation with federal immigration authorities in order to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation. 

That designation makes it a target of the Trump administration, which has begun mass raids in sanctuary cities across the country.

At Friday's Everett event, a mobile food bank handed out meals because many at the reported being afraid to go to work or even the grocery store for fear of being taken from their loved ones.

Children have been staying home from school, families forsaking church.

As they wrapped themselves in donated blankets on an unseasonably cool June day, Keana's family felt the warmth of American generosity.

For now, at least. It's a comfort they hope America will continue to extend.

"For us," Rudis said, "America is a country of many opportunities. We have hope to stay here as a family."

Despite the show of solidarity, ICE agents have been reported in Snohomish County.

Advocates tell KING 5 News 128 people were rounded up outside the Home Depot at Airport Road and Highway 99 on Thursday.

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