Tacoma ICE detainee escapes, arrested in Beaverton

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A 24-year-old Venezuelan who escaped from an ICE facility in Tacoma was arrested in Beaverton, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office told KOIN 6 News.

Alvaro Flores-Barboza escaped from the Northwest Detention Center on March 26, a spokesperson for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. He was taken into custody at some point after March 10, when he was stopped in Washington County for driving with a suspended license and giving false information to a police officer.

Flores-Barboza was taken into custody by a Washington County deputy around 5:30 a.m. Saturday at 170th and Tualatin Valley Hwy, officials said. The details of this arrest are not yet available.

It’s also not clear how he managed to escape the ICE Processing Center in Tacoma and make his way back to Oregon.

Previous convictions

In 2024, court documents obtained by KOIN 6 News revealed Alvaro Flores-Barboza was arrested two separate times in Washington County.

In May, he was arrested on 5 separate charges, including a misdemeanor assault he admitted. Then in July, he was arrested on 5 different charges. He was convicted on two, a reckless driving misdemeanor and a felony use of a weapon.

Then in December, both of his arrest cases were resolved. In the May cases, Flores-Barboza was given 2 years of supervised probation and fined $100. In the July cases, he was sentenced to time already served, ordered not to have any contact with any of the victims, and had his license suspended for a year.

He was also ordered to obey all laws.

ICE became aware of his arrest in mid-March and he was taken into custody in Portland, ICE officials said in a statement.

KOIN 6 News is working to learn more details about this case and will update this story as developments become known.

Wednesday’s incident follows a growing list of escapes from immigration facilities, including two in Colorado just a week prior.