Man arrested in Juneau on traffic charges set to be turned over to federal immigration officials
- Mark Sabbatini
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Darwin Mendez-Cando, 46, has lived with family members in Juneau since at least 2024, according to officials; arrest occurs same week as quick deportation of Soldotna family
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
This is a developing story.
A Juneau man stopped this week by police for driving with a missing headlight is expected to be turned over to federal immigration officials as soon as Friday, according to officials and court records.
Darwin Mendez-Cando, 46, was arrested on Monday after a Juneau Police Department officer observed the inoperable headlight on Glacier Highway, according to a charging document filed at Juneau’s Dimond Courthouse.
He was incarcerated at Lemon Creek Correctional Center on charges of driving without a valid license and violating conditions of release, due to a previous arrest of driving under the influence on Sept. 7, 2025.
Alaska Department of Corrections spokesperson Betsy Holley said Friday that Mendez-Cando “has a federal detainer on him,” but “I don't have the information about why there's a detainer.” She confirmed three men in Juneau were detained and removed from the community last year by federal immigration officials under similar circumstances.
Joyanne Bloom, who helps coordinate refugee resettlement efforts in Juneau, stated in a text message Friday that Mendez-Cando, who is from Ecuador, applied for asylum last spring and “his application was acknowledged but nothing has happened since.”
Two local officials assisting Mendez-Cando’s family say he is expected to be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, possibly on Friday. Former state Attorney General Bruce Botelho said he is providing limited representation to Mendez-Cando’s spouse, but declined further comment, citing attorney-client privilege. Assembly Member Maureen Hall said she is also working with family members, but declined to provide specifics due to confidentiality regulations as a health care worker.
The two other members of his family, including a minor, were not detained as of Friday morning.
Hall said she and other members of the community helped Mendez-Cando and his family obtain housing in 2024, and he was a construction worker. She said a significant number of people from other countries now living in Juneau are in fear of possible ICE enforcement actions similar to those seen in other cities.
JPD Deputy Chief Krag Campbell, in emails to the Juneau Independent on Friday, stated the department was not involved in the notification of Mendez-Cando’s immigration status to federal immigration officials. KTOO last week reported similar circumstances for the three men detained in 2025, including a situation where they went to one person’s house to serve a warrant and were told by people there he’d been deported.
“This recent incident appears consistent with the others,” Krag wrote.
Hall said her understanding is JPD has not been involved in turning the people detained in Juneau over to ICE.
“It's just the reality that if any immigrant is arrested in this day and age, you know ICE is going to find out about it through their surveillance,” she said.
A message from the Juneau Independent to the Denali Law Group, which is representing Mendez-Cando, did not receive a response as of midmorning Friday.
His arrest occurred a day before immigration enforcement agents “swarmed a Soldotna home Tuesday morning and took a family of four, including a kindergartner, into custody,” according to a report by Alaska Public Media. That incident prompted strong denouncements by some state legislators, with the bipartisan House majority issuing a statement Thursday “it is believed to be the first instance in which children have been taken into ICE custody in Alaska.”
The mother and two youngest children have been deported to Tijuana, Mexico, while the oldest, who is 18, reportedly remains in custody at a state correctional facility, according to the statement.
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing about the detainment of children in Alaska by ICE from 1-3 p.m. Monday.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306. Editor’s note: Bruce Botehlo is the president of the Juneau Independent’s board of directors. Details of Mendez-Cando’s arrest and pending transfer to federal custody were obtained independently from other sources, and Botelho was contacted for comment upon being told he was providing legal representation related to the matter.
