Questions people ask

What is Café Gratis?

A hospitality table run by volunteers. Every weekday morning the office is open, 9 a.m. to noon, we pour free coffee and tea for community members arriving at their immigration check-ins in Tukwila, and hand out juice and snacks to the kids who come with them. It has been there since December 2025. Gratis means free: given without cost, without price.

Who comes to the office?

The office runs ISAP, the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE describes it as part of its Alternatives to Detention program, for people "who are generally in removal proceedings or subject to a final order of removal." ICE requires them to check in. Many of them have never been detained.

In other words, the people walking up to the table are doing what the government has told them to do: showing up, on time, while their cases move through the system. Many are still in immigration court, waiting for a judge to decide their case.

Source: ICE, Alternatives to Detention.

Aren't these people all criminals?

No. Being in the United States without legal status is generally a civil violation, not a crime. The Supreme Court has said that "as a general matter, it is not a crime for a removable [noncitizen] to remain present in the United States." That includes people who stay past the end of their visa.

About 7 in 10 people held in ICE detention have no criminal conviction at all: 46,436 of 65,765, or 70.6%, as of July 11, 2026.

What about the other 3 in 10?

• A charge isn't a conviction. ICE's own numbers from January 7, 2026 showed 68,990 people in detention: 17,729 with a criminal conviction and 17,881 with a criminal charge that hadn't been decided. About half had neither.
• Some convictions are for how people crossed the border. Entering somewhere other than an official port of entry is a federal crime, with up to six months in jail for a first offense. Federal law also lets people ask for asylum whether or not they arrived at a port of entry, so someone following the asylum process can still have an illegal-entry conviction on their record. ICE's public data doesn't say how many detainees fall in this group.
• Many of the rest are minor. Among people ICE booked from October 2024 to June 2025, 53% of convictions were for immigration, traffic, or nonviolent vice offenses.
• Violent convictions are a small share. More than 93% of the people booked in that period had never been convicted of a violent offense. A later Cato count, reported by PolitiFact, found 5% of people in detention from October 1 to November 15, 2025 had a violent conviction.

ICE doesn't publish current figures for traffic or DUI convictions on their own.

Sources: TRAC Immigration, Detention Quick Facts (data as of July 11, 2026); PolitiFact, republished by Poynter (January 2026, citing ICE detention statistics as of January 7, 2026); Cato Institute (June 2025, ICE book-ins through June 14, 2025); federal law on asylum and improper entry; American Immigration Council (May 2026).

What happens when someone is detained at a check-in?

More and more, people are detained when they show up for a required check-in. Families often don't know right away where the person has been taken.

ICE's online detainee locator can find someone held in ICE custody. It needs their A-number and country of birth, or their full name and country of birth. Our resources page walks through the next steps, with hotlines that can help.

Many people drive to their check-in, and the car is left in the lot. If it's towed, impound fees add up every day. Volunteers try to find the person and get their permission to move it first. You can help with a ride, a driveway, or the search: see how car help works.

Source: ICE Online Detainee Locator System.

Why do people keep coming back?

ICE sets how often each person checks in, and for many community members it's every two weeks or every month. That's why the table matters: the same faces come back, and over time a volunteer pouring coffee becomes someone they know.

How far do people travel?

Some community members come from as far as Bellingham or Centralia, two hours or more each way with several bus transfers. Many bring their children, because they can't find child care or can't be back in time for school pickup. After a trip like that, a hot drink and a snack for the kids go a long way.

Is the table a protest?

No. It's hospitality. We set up on the public sidewalk outside the business park, as close to the office as we can legally be. It's a welcome, not a confrontation. Café Gratis is not part of any rapid-response network.

Where can I learn more about wrongful detentions?

ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom, has been tracking immigration detention closely.

• More than 500 U.S. citizens have been detained in the immigration crackdown, including at least 70 children or teens (October 2026, updated October 29).
• After that investigation, members of Congress demanded answers (November 2, 2026).
• More Than Numbers: portraits of citizens who were detained (November 12, 2026).
• Women escaping domestic abuse were detained by ICE instead (October 14, 2026).
• Some judges take months to decide if a detention is unlawful (September 2026).

All of ProPublica's coverage is on its immigration page. For current detention numbers, see TRAC's quick facts.

Can the table help with a legal case?

No. Café Gratis is not a legal service, and volunteers don't give legal advice. Our resources page lists free and low-cost legal help, hotlines, and know-your-rights guides in 11 languages.

Can I take photos or post about the table?

Please don't photograph or film community members or their children at the table, and don't post anything that could identify them, on social media or anywhere else. If you're responding to ICE activity nearby, please do it apart from the table and leave it out of your posts.

How can I help?

Give in a minute, stock the table, cover a bill, or pour coffee with us.