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Judge orders release of UW lab tech from ICE custody

An immigration judge ordered Lewelyn Dixon's release from ICE custody on Thursday.

TACOMA, Wash. — Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Dixon’s 2001 conviction was for a felony.

A University of Washington lab technician held in ICE custody since Feb. 28 has been released.

An immigration judge ordered for Lewelyn Dixon's release on Thursday. She walked out of the Northwest ICE Processing Center late afternoon to expectant family members and supporters. 

Dixon, still wearing the outfit and backpack she was arrested in, in February, broke out in tears as she hugged people. 

"Thank you everyone for your support," she said. "Thank you for all the late night visits, when you guys came at eight o'clock nine o'clock. Thank you so much."

Dixon didn't mince words about the conditions inside the detention center, confirming what immigrant advocates have suspected about the facility reaching capacity. 

"It was horrific; it was awful, it is crowded -- super crowded, they release maybe nine, bring back seven, release one, they bring three," she added.

Lani Madriaga, Dixon's niece has been fighting for her release since day one. Madriaga, who lives in Hawaii, flew in for the hearing on Thursday. Inside the courtroom, Madriaga said she was nervous until the judge's final words.

"It was like 50/50 like all the questions he was asking-- it was like oh my God, is he going to turn around and be like, 'no you did bad and you don't remember' it was we were talking back and forth we couldn't tell," Madriaga explained.

Dixon was arrested while re-entering the country from the Philippines. The justification at the time was a 2001 conviction in a bank embezzlement case. It was a nonviolent, felony charge.

"Could you give somebody a ticket for jay walking, yes but do we? Could you give someone a ticket for speeding five miles over the speed limit? Typically we don't." Dixon's attorney Benjamin Osorio said. "Typically for somebody in this case--I'm not trying to compare her case to jaywalking but I'm saying-- where she had something that happened 25 years ago, and she's eligible to naturalize you don't see this heavy of enforcement."

Dixon has been a lawful permanent resident for the last 50 years. She came to the United States from the Philippines at the age of 14, in 1974. She has been eligible to become a naturalized citizen for a long time, but had promised her grandfather she would keep her Philippines citizenship. 

She was arrested amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. 

In April, U.S. Representative Emily Randall said she was told there were more than 1,300 detainees at the Tacoma facility alone. That is almost double since November, when it was around 700 people.

Back in the arms of family, Dixon hurried off to catch up on all she missed, the last four months. Her family said Dixon's next steps include, applying to become naturalized as a U.S. Citizen.

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