A federal judge ordered a UW Medical staffer be released Friday from detention after being convinced the Kenyan immigrant had an elevated chance of a stroke while being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.
U.S. District Court Judge Tiffany Cartwright said at a midafternoon hearing that Robert Sidhe should be freed within six hours of her order. His fiancee confirmed Friday evening he was home.
The government has not formally initiated deportation proceedings, but that is still expected to happen.
Sidhe, a 43-year-old who worked as a doctor in Kenya and founded a nonprofit devoted to expanding healthcare access, had a medical crisis at the Tacoma facility that included extremely high blood pressure and strokelike symptoms, according to information discussed at Friday's hearing. He was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma
Imaging showed he did not have a bona fide stroke, but the possibility of a future stroke remained, Sidhe's lawyer argued. Cartwright agreed, saying the consequences could be "catastrophic" given the difficulty of accessing emergency care in detention.
She also noted Sidhe is a caretaker for his partner, a disabled U.S. citizen who uses a wheelchair. Sidhe helps her with bathing, dressing and cooking.
The judge therefore said she was granting a temporary restraining order, reserved for extraordinary circumstances, before a full hearing on a habeas corpus, or unjust imprisonment, petition Sidhe had filed.
Sidhe came to the United States legally five times on visas, according to a legal filing submitted on his behalf. During one visit, he served as a fellow in a U.S. Department of State program for outstanding young African leaders, which enables professional development at an American educational institution.
He last entered the U.S. in February 2023 and later that year filed an asylum application that remains pending.
UW Medicine spokesperson Susan Gregg said Sidhe has worked there since 2025 as a patient care technician. That position involves helping nurses with tests, treatments and other tasks.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stopped Sidhe on Aug. 26 as he was driving on 68th Avenue in Lynnwood, according to his legal filing. He had just left a grocery store and was on his way home from the gym.
The officers who arrested him said he had overstayed his visa, Sidhe told one of his lawyers, Peter Omari. When Sidhe replied that he had a pending asylum application, the officers told him to tell that to a judge.
An ICE spokesperson later said Sidhe was authorized to remain in the U.S. until August 2023 and "did not depart as required."
The spokesperson referred to a previous statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: "To be clear, a pending application does NOT confer legal status in the United States. Any application for asylum does not preclude immigration enforcement."
ICE did not cite any criminal history when asked about Sidhe, as it invariably has when someone has such a record.
Under previous administrations, ICE did not typically detain people with pending asylum applications and no criminal history. The Trump administration, despite saying its enforcement efforts are focused on immigrants who commit crimes, is different.
ICE last year detained Fernando Rocha, a theater manager at Juanita High School in Kirkland, who also overstayed a visa and had a pending asylum application.
Omari, based in Minneapolis and asked by the Washington Federation of State Employees to represent Sidhe, said he has seen ICE arrest others with pending asylum applications.
To qualify for asylum, people must show they were persecuted, or fear persecution, in their country of origin because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
As a Kenyan doctor, Sidhe treated victims of a 2011 pipeline explosion and fire that killed hundreds and injured thousands. He also testified on their behalf in a lawsuit by survivors seeking government compensation, noting their need for specialized surgery.
The survivors won their case, angering many in the Kenyan government who sought revenge against Sidhe, he claims in his legal filing. He links that to the subsequent murder of his brother and a warning he said he received soon after last coming to the U.S. that his life was in danger.
Three years after the pipeline explosion, Sidhe founded the Hawi Global Foundation "with the goal of bridging the gap between healthcare services and those who need it most," according to the nonprofit's website. Originally serving Kenyans, the foundation established a Washington outpost in 2023 that provides food and medical services to families here, according to his legal filing.
UW Medicine issued a brief statement after Sidhe's arrest saying it cares deeply about the well-being of its employees and "hopes for a swift resolution to this matter."
Gregg, the spokesperson, said she couldn't elaborate on Sidhe's tenure at the University of Washington because the university can't comment on personnel matters. Neither she nor another UW spokesperson answered questions about whether the university is concerned about how immigration enforcement activity affects its staff and students.
Immigration authorities arrested Lewelyn Dixon, a UW lab technician and then green card holder, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last year. Government officials cited a 2001 conviction for embezzling $6,500 from Washington Mutual bank when she was a bank teller. Held for three months in ICE detention, Dixon won her case in immigration court and has since become a U.S. citizen.
Sidhe does not appear to be at risk of losing his job, at least in the short term. An email from a UW human resources staffer to a Washington Federation of State Employees representative confirmed the university will not consider him a no-show and will use his accrued leave while he is detained. If he needs more leave, union members have said they want to donate some of theirs.
Mike Yestramski, president of the statewide state employees union, said Sidhe is "exactly who we want" in the United States, "a leader within our union, within his church, within his community."
He was elected a delegate to an international union convention last month in Chicago, noted Paula Lukaszek, president of the union local that represents UW Medical Center employees. He came a day late because he had a biometrics appointment with immigration authorities, often a routine procedure where fingerprints, photo and the like are taken.
ICE has started arresting people with pending immigration cases and no criminal record at airports, including at Sea-Tac. But Sidhe flew to Chicago without incident.
"He really seemed to enjoy the convention," Lukaszek said, noting Sidhe went around introducing himself to people and talking about the need for increased healthcare access.
He flew back to Seattle, again without incident.
At Friday's hearing, Cartwright said Sidhe's habeas case was likely to succeed. She cited previous decisions granting release to immigrants who had overstayed visas and pending asylum applications. As with Sidhe's case, long periods of time had gone by without any government effort to detain them. Due process, judges have ruled, requires the government give such immigrants notice and an opportunity to be heard before switching course and taking them into custody.