Cantwell to ask feds to reconsider informant's arrest

Sen. Maria Cantwell today planned to ask top U.S. immigration officials to reconsider the case of an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who for 13 years worked as a confidential drug informant under the watch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — the same agency that arrested him last week for being in the country illegally.

Ernesto Gamboa had worked undercover with law enforcement on major national and international drug investigations that resulted in more than 90 federal convictions.

All along, he'd hoped his work as an informant might earn him a kind of legal status the federal government extends to illegal immigrants who assist law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting crimes.

The 43-year-old has been held without bond at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma since ICE officers arrested him July 7.

Staff from Cantwell's office on Wednesday visited Gamboa, who signed a privacy waiver allowing the senator to discuss his case with representatives from federal agencies.

Ciaran Clayton, spokeswoman for Cantwell, said the senator will speak with the deputy director at ICE investigations in Washington, D.C.

"At this point she plans to raise the point: Did the government make some mistakes; could we take another look at his case?" Clayton said.

Among his advocates are police he worked with on cases over the years who repeatedly asked ICE to grant him legal status and are now offering to testify on his behalf.

Gamboa's relationship with ICE began to sour in recent weeks, when he told an ICE agent heading up a major drug investigation that he was broke and wanted to take a paying job in Miami. He said he would continue working on the case if ICE would fly him back to Washington when he was needed.

He said he quit that case in June after the ICE agent threatened him with deportation if he left the state. ICE officers arrested him not long after.

Gamboa's attorneys at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project have begun building a case to get him legal status and are negotiating with ICE for his release.

The agency could allow him to be released on bail — but so far has not done so. ICE has declined to publicly comment on Gamboa's case.

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com