One would think that a cushy state job, let's just say, with the state of Washington's Department of Children, Youth & Families, should by default go to an American citizen. Barring that, if there simply are no American citizens willing to take the job, then one would think it should at least go to someone who is in the country legally.
That's not what has happened, though. In Washington, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has confirmed the arrest of one Stanley Robert Kungu Muthee, who has been employed by the Washington Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF), and who was in the United States illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa. Fox News' Bill Melugin has more.
NEW: ICE confirms to @FoxNews that their Seattle office has arrested a Kenyan illegal alien who is a current employee of the Washington State Dept. of Children, Youth, and Families, and was wearing a WA DCYF jacket at the time of his arrest. Fox is told ICE arrested STANLEY ROBERT KUNGU MUTHEE during a traffic stop on Monday because he is a visa overstay. He first flew into the US on 2/6/2019 via a B-2/tourist visa, but never left and remained in the country illegally. Fox is told that during his ICE arrest, he admitted to being employed by WA DCYF employee and was in possession of a WA DCYF ID card. I reached out to WA DCYF for comment, and they confirmed he's been an employee since 2024. “This individual has been employed with the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families since Aug. 16, 2024. The individual provided the appropriate documentation when he was hired, which indicated he was authorized to work. This included a valid United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) number with no expiration date. We have not been notified of a change in his status.” – Nancy Gutierrez, Director of Communications, WA DCYF A reminder - a work permit does not convey legal status or shield the recipient from deportation. Someone can be in the U.S. illegally, but if they file an asylum claim, they are typically eligible to apply for a work permit 6 months after filing their claim. They can work, but they are still detainable by ICE due to their unlawful status.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) October 28, 2026
Mr. Melugin writes:
Fox is told ICE arrested STANLEY ROBERT KUNGU MUTHEE during a traffic stop on Monday because he is a visa overstay. He first flew into the US on 2/6/2019 via a B-2/tourist visa, but never left and remained in the country illegally. Fox is told that during his ICE arrest, he admitted to being employed by WA DCYF employee and was in possession of a WA DCYF ID card.
I reached out to WA DCYF for comment, and they confirmed he's been an employee since 2024.
“This individual has been employed with the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families since Aug. 16, 2024. The individual provided the appropriate documentation when he was hired, which indicated he was authorized to work. This included a valid United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) number with no expiration date. We have not been notified of a change in his status.” – Nancy Gutierrez, Director of Communications, WA DCYF
This raises a few questions.
First: There's no indication from this report, and so far no press release or any other such information from ICE, that Mr. Muthee ever applied for asylum; just that he entered the country on a tourist visa seven years ago and never left. So, how did he obtain paperwork indicating he was authorized to work?
Second: What, precisely, was he doing for DCYF? What qualified him to do whatever it was he was doing?
Third and finally: Will he now be repatriated, and will ICE be looking through DCYF's records for other possible illegal aliens?
As Mr. Melugin points out, not even a work permit indicates that the possessor is in the country legally. Even if Muthee was in possession of, as DCYF describes it, appropriate documentation, that doesn't (and shouldn't) shield him from detention and repatriation if he's caught, which appears to be what has happened here.
People like Stanley Robert Kungu Muthee ran out of excuses long ago. Almost from the start, the Trump administration has offered a free plane ticket and a substantial cash payment to self-deport, after which they are eligible to return through the legal process. In this case, Muthee did not do so, and that's on him. He should be sent back to Kenya forthwith, and if DCYF wants him back, let them sponsor his legal return. But now that he is presumably being repatriated involuntarily, that door is and should be, for now, closed.
This should be a lesson for anyone who wants to come to the United States to work: Start by not breaking our immigration laws.