A man being held in federal custody says he was attacked by another detainee inside an immigration detention center in Washington and accused officials of failing to provide him with adequate medical care or notify local police.
Wilfredo Castillo Rivas, a 47-year-old asylum seeker who is currently detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma told Newsweek that on August 12 he was lying on his bunk when another man attacked him without provocation.
“I can’t sleep very well. I’m afraid that someone will attack me again. I have nightmares of someone coming and stabbing me. I’m not OK. I don’t trust anyone here. I don’t feel secure here. I don’t feel safe,” Castillo told Newsweek in an exclusive statement.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek that the alleged attacker has been placed into solitary confinement and charged with assault.
The alleged attacker began kicking and punching Castillo before grabbing a pencil and stabbing toward his stomach, Castillo said. He said he was able to block several of the blows with his arm but was stabbed repeatedly in the leg before pinning the man to the ground and forcing him to drop the pencil.
A guard employed by the GEO Group, a private company that operates the facility under contract with ICE arrived after hearing the commotion, Castillo said. The guard saw that he was bleeding and escorted him first to the recreation yard for questioning and later to the medical unit, according to Castillo.
Castillo said medical staff treated him with a tetanus shot, antibiotic ointment, bandages and pain medication before sending him back to his bunk. He described his injuries as four stab wounds to his thigh, several stab wounds and scratches to his arm, and a scratch on his abdomen. Newsweek has reviewed images of his injuries supplied by his family.
The next morning, on August 13, medical staff provided him with more ointment, he said. But Castillo claims that ICE and GEO have not provided further medical evaluation, despite repeated requests, his family said.
“Any claims that Castillo was denied proper medical attention are FALSE. Following this attack by another illegal alien on August 12, ICE immediately provided Castillo with proper medical care,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for DHS told Newsweek
“On a follow up appointment the next day, ICE medical staff confirmed his wounds were superficial and showed no signs of infection and concluded there was no need for X-ray or hospitalization.
“Ensuring the safety, security and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE,” McLaughlin said
“We encourage illegal aliens to avoid detention by using the CBP Home to self-deport,” she added.
The incident comes as the Trump administration looks to remove millions of migrants without legal status to fulfill the president’s campaign pledge of mass deportations. The Trump administration has rolled back several Biden era asylum protections and increased efforts to arrest individuals who entered the country illegally under the previous administration. Newsweek has documented dozens of cases of migrants without criminal records who have been detained under the government’s hard-line stance.
Castillo fled Venezuela to escape persecution, entering the U.S. in April 2024 illegally through El Paso, Texas. Upon surrendering to immigration authorities, he requested asylum, and officials determined he had a credible fear of persecution, his family said.
He was placed in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP), which required regular phone and biometric check-ins while awaiting his final asylum hearing, originally scheduled for April 2027, his family added.
In March 2025, Castillo attended what he believed was a routine appointment with his ISAP case manager in Tukwila in Washington state. Instead, ICE agents were waiting and arrested him, alleging he had missed multiple check-ins. Castillo and his wife, Karri Castillo, 39, dispute these claims. They say he regularly completed all check-ins. Castillo was transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center on March 26, 2025.
“He does not understand why they are keeping him detained. Or why he was detained in the first place. He has always been willing to do everything asked of him in order to stay in the U.S.,” Karri Castillo said.
Castillo’s first hearing while in ICE custody was held on April 23, 2025. His final asylum hearing was moved up to July 2025. Castillo initially struggled to secure legal representation, as a private attorney who had been hired withdrew from the case without communication, forcing him to represent himself.
On July 18, 2025, Castillo appeared before a judge for his final hearing. With Karri Castillo and his step-daughter Avalee present, the judge ruled that Castillo had demonstrated a likelihood of torture or death if returned to Venezuela.
He was granted protection under the Convention Against Torture, an international treaty prohibiting removal to a country where an individual faces serious harm or death. Now his family fears that he will be removed to a third country.
“ICE is continuing to detain Will indefinitely as part of this administration’s unethical and inhumane scheme of removing people to third countries in order to circumvent judges lawful orders that these migrants are entitled to protection under the Convention Against Torture or some other legal basis to defer their removal,” family attorney Ariel Cook told Newsweek.
Karri Castillo and her children continue to advocate for his release. The family have launched a campaign on GoFundMe to raise money for legal support.
“I feel sad, angry, confused, and disappointed. Everything in this process has been so difficult and confusing, which I am sure is intentional. I just want Will to come home, he is my best friend,” Karri Castillo told Newsweek.
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