Washington man, mauled by dog during arrest, released from ICE custody

Claire Withycombe, The Seattle Times on Feb 16, 2026

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SEATTLE — A Vancouver man who was mauled by a dog handled by federal immigration agents in November has been released from ICE custody and is now recovering at home, his attorney said Sunday.

Wilmer Toledo-Martinez was released from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma on Feb. 2, said his lawyer, Olia Catala.

U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones ordered Toledo-Martinez’s release after his attorneys petitioned the federal court for relief under habeas corpus. Habeas corpus is a legal process where people can challenge their detention by the government.

Toledo-Martinez, who is undocumented and was brought to the U.S. as a 15-year-old, was released on bond, and his immigration case is still ongoing.

“Hopefully, at the end of the process, he’ll have a pathway to a green card, to becoming a lawful permanent resident in the United States,” Catala said in a phone interview Sunday.

She said Toledo-Martinez is now “getting his much needed sleep and getting checked out by doctors and is just getting a lot of love from his family and friends.”

Toledo-Martinez is married to a U.S. citizen and has three young children. Catala said Sunday that Toledo-Martinez’s wife relayed to her that he was thankful to be released.

“(He said) he's blessed, and he hopes that other people can get help because there's a lot of injustice, and everybody deserves to be treated fairly,” Catala said. “He said ‘God is great,’ and he's very thankful to be out.”

A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday night.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., had called for Toledo-Martinez’s release.

“This should shock the conscience of every one of us,” Murray said in an early December statement. “I do not want to live in an America where federal agents can sic attack dogs on peaceful residents with impunity and face no consequences.”

Another Washington detainee, Greggy Sorio, was released last week after a federal court order that called his detention unconstitutionally “punitive.” While in custody, Sorio developed several health issues, including a bone infection that led to doctors amputating one of his toes and part of his foot.

Material from Seattle Times archives was included in this report.