A family in Washington state is reeling after a surprise ICE arrest turned their lives upside down, just months before they’re expecting their baby boy.
Guilherme Lemes Cardoso E Silva, a 35-year-old visual artist originally from Brazil, was detained by ICE agents last Friday morning near his home on San Juan Island. He was on his way to pick up his daughter when several unmarked vehicles pulled up, and masked agents confronted him on a private road, according to his wife, Rachel Leidig, reported NBC.
Rachel, who met Silva at a Flaming Lips concert in San Francisco in 2023, says they were planning to move to Sausalito, California, at the end of the month to start their life together with their new baby on the way. The couple married in April and are expecting their son in October.
“He’s just one of those people who it’s like, when you meet him he’s just so loving and warm and kind,” she said. “Anyone that genuinely knows Gui knows that he’s an amazing person.”
Leidig says Silva has no criminal record or outstanding warrants and that the two of them were actively working with an immigration attorney to file paperwork that would allow him to stay in the U.S. legally. She had even submitted an I-130 petition—the form used to begin the legal immigration process for family members—just after he was detained. He was also in the process of renewing his work permit.
But according to Rachel, the way the agents handled the arrest was rough and unnecessary. Silva told her they refused to show a warrant, took his phone when he began recording, and even laughed among themselves during the arrest.
“They were behind him laughing and making jokes, saying they were glad they didn’t make the news this time,” she said.
Silva was held in a cell for 38 hours in Ferndale before being transferred. He told Rachel the conditions were awful, and the food made him sick. He was reportedly asked about gang affiliations and made to show his tattoos—questions that stunned him, especially since he has no history of violence or crime.
ICE hasn’t released a statement yet, and so far, there’s been no official explanation from the agency about the arrest.
Meanwhile, support for Silva and his family has poured in. A GoFundMe started by a friend has already raised over $56,000 to help with legal fees and support the family as they fight to bring Silva home.
Silva is currently being held at a detention center in Tacoma, Washington, with a court hearing scheduled for the end of the month. Rachel says she’s holding onto hope that he’ll be released in time to be there for the birth of their son.
“I just want him home, I want him to come home to me,” she said through tears. “We’ve been trying to do this legally and I want him to be here for the birth of our child, and I want him to be there for me and his son and for his daughter.”
Rachel says Silva plans to use this painful experience to help others. With a law degree from Brazil, he wants to support others going through the immigration system who may not know their rights.“He wants to make this a bigger purpose of helping other people,” she said.