Sergey Kostenyuk and his partner, Mary Loisate, have shared over 20 years of life together. While Loisate is a U.S. citizen, Kostenyuk has lived in the country legally as a green card holder since arriving from Ukraine as a refugee more than three decades ago. The couple lives with their two sons just outside Spokane, Washington, running a small business building and selling backyard sheds and chicken coops.
Their lives took a sudden turn in February when a seemingly routine customer visit turned out to be a setup by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). An officer posing as a potential buyer met Kostenyuk at their property, showed him a photo of one of his custom coops, then announced, “I’m from immigration. I’m here to arrest you.” Two SUVs filled with ICE agents pulled up shortly after. Kostenyuk was handcuffed and taken away.
Loisate said agents initially downplayed the situation, telling her he was just going downtown to fill out some paperwork. She expected a call in 45 minutes. Instead, he disappeared into federal custody.
Immigration lawyers say incidents like this are becoming increasingly common. Although ICE does not release data about the immigration status of individuals it detains, attorneys across the country are seeing more green card holders swept into deportation proceedings. Amanda Ng, a supervising attorney with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, represents Kostenyuk. She said the current approach prioritizes enforcement over public safety concerns.
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“It’s not really about serious convictions anymore,” Ng said. “They’re detaining people first, then figuring things out later.”
For Kostenyuk, the trouble stems from two felony theft convictions in 2018. He had pleaded guilty to stealing a television and a trailer full of tools, serving six days in jail and receiving probation. The convictions, which involved no prison time, were processed through a first-time offenders program. Still, the offenses qualify as “crimes involving moral turpitude”—a legal category that can trigger deportation for non-citizens.
Kostenyuk had been eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship for years but never did. His failure to naturalize, combined with those convictions, put him in ICE’s crosshairs. Under federal law, even legal permanent residents can be deported for such offenses, no matter how long ago they occurred.
Ironically, Loisate said Kostenyuk had long supported President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies. “You should see his garage,” she said. “It’s covered in Trump flags and posters. I took them all down. I’m not happy about it at all.”
Kostenyuk believed the policies were aimed at undocumented immigrants, not people like him who entered the U.S. legally. “I don’t think he thought he was included in all that,” Loisate said.
After his arrest, it took Loisate several days to locate him. He had been taken to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. She and her sons made the five-hour drive to his first court hearing, bringing him clean clothes, expecting he might be released. Instead, the judge scheduled another hearing and warned that resolving the case too quickly could result in deportation.
“We didn’t think it was as serious as it was,” Loisate said. “We were shocked.”
The family has struggled to cope in his absence. Loisate now handles all the responsibilities of parenting and running their business. Their 18-year-old son, Jacob, who once had a 3.87 GPA, has become withdrawn and is considering leaving school. Their 8-year-old, Jaiden, cries frequently and misses his father deeply.
“I feel like I’m the one being punished,” Loisate said. “I’m trying to pay the bills and raise the kids, and he’s in detention eating candy.”
At a recent hearing, Ng argued that the Washington state theft convictions did not meet the federal criteria required for deportation. “It wasn’t a match,” she said. The judge agreed and ordered Kostenyuk’s release.
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After more than two months in detention, Kostenyuk returned home. For the family, it was a long-awaited relief, but the experience left lasting scars.
As immigration attorneys warn green card holders to pursue citizenship and avoid unnecessary travel, stories like Kostenyuk’s highlight how swiftly life can be upended—even for those who have called the United States home for decades.
Source : kuow.org
