U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says its Seattle office arrested a Kenyan national who was working for Washington State's Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), in a case that has put the spotlight on how a state agency hired — and checked — an employee whom federal officials now allege was living in the United States unlawfully. ICE announced the arrest publicly on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, and Fox News, which was briefed by ICE, named the man as Stanley Robert Kungu Muthee.

According to Fox News reporting attributed to ICE, officers arrested Muthee during a traffic stop on Monday, October 26. Fox News was told he was wearing a Washington DCYF jacket at the time of his arrest, that he admitted he was employed by DCYF, and that he was in possession of a DCYF identification card. Those details come from ICE's account given to Fox News and have not been independently confirmed by DCYF beyond the fact of his employment.

In its post on X on October 28, ICE stated: 'AMERICAN TAXPAYER DOLLARS SHOULD NEVER PAY THE SALARIES OF ILLEGAL ALIENS!' The agency added that it had arrested a Kenyan national who, it alleged, overstayed his visa and was employed by Washington State's Department of Children, Youth, and Families, and said people it describes as illegal aliens have no business working in government agencies responsible for the safety and well-being of American children. That language is ICE's own framing of the case; the allegation of an overstay is an allegation by the agency, not a finding by a court reported so far.

Fox News was told by ICE that Muthee first flew into the United States on February 6, 2019, on a B-2 tourist visa, but never left and remained in the country illegally. A B-2 visa is a visitor visa for tourism and short visits — it is not, by itself, a work visa. People Daily, reporting on the same ICE announcement on October 29, also described the case as an alleged visa overstay and noted that remaining beyond an authorised period can leave a person out of legal status, while also noting that an expired visa alone does not settle whether a person has another lawful basis to stay, such as an approved extension or a pending application.

What the state agency says — hiring papers showed work authorisation, DCYF says

Washington DCYF gave a materially different account of the hiring. In a statement quoted by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, Nancy Gutierrez, Director of Communications at WA DCYF, said: 'This individual has been employed with the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families since Aug. 16, 2024. The individual provided the appropriate documentation when he was hired, which indicated he was authorized to work. This included a valid United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) number with no expiration date. We have not been notified of a change in his status.' DCYF has not, in the reporting so far, disputed that Muthee worked for the department — it confirmed the employment and the start date.

Why this agency, and why the case drew national attention

DCYF is Washington State's agency for children, youth and families — the department responsible for services involving child safety and family well-being. That is why ICE centred its public message on the nature of the employer, and why the arrest drew coverage well beyond Washington. For readers in the Punjabi diaspora in Washington — in the Seattle area, Kent, Renton and other communities where many families work in trucking, warehouses, care work and public services — the case is a pointed reminder that immigration enforcement is not limited to border areas or private employers: a state government job, an agency jacket and an agency ID card do not, by themselves, settle a person's immigration status.

The arrest also fits a pattern reported in Washington in recent months. People Daily noted that a report by US public radio station KUOW on September 17, 2026, documented ICE arrests of Kenyan immigrants in Washington, including individuals pursuing legal immigration pathways, and cited immigration records showing an increase in arrests of Kenyan immigrants in the months leading up to July 2026. Community members estimated that at least 10 Kenyans had been arrested since July — a figure People Daily attributed to community reports, not to an official count.

A key distinction — a work permit is not the same as legal status

In his reporting thread, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin added a general explainer that is important context for this case, without stating that it describes Muthee's own paperwork: a work permit does not convey legal status or shield the recipient from deportation, and a person can be in the United States unlawfully while still being eligible to apply for a work permit, typically six months after filing an asylum claim. In other words, holding work authorisation and holding lawful immigration status are two different questions in US immigration law — and the reporting so far does not say which applications, if any, Muthee himself had filed or been granted.

What happens next

ICE has not, in the announcement reported so far, published a court date, a detention location or a removal timetable for Muthee, and People Daily noted that ICE had not provided further details in its announcement about the employee's current immigration proceedings. The next verified developments to watch are an immigration court hearing or a formal ICE statement on custody and removal proceedings, any further DCYF statement on how its hiring verification was carried out and whether it will review similar cases, and whether the case is taken up by Washington state lawmakers. Until those steps are reported by a named source, readers should treat claims about deportation dates or outcomes as unconfirmed.

For immigrant workers across the United States — including Punjabi truck drivers, warehouse staff and public-sector workers in Washington — lawyers and community advisers routinely give the same practical advice that this case underlines: keep copies of every immigration filing, receipt and work-authorisation document, know the expiry and renewal dates attached to your own status, and seek licensed legal advice promptly if enforcement officers make contact, because an employer's hiring check and ICE's view of status can differ, as this case shows in public.