Bajo la presión de la comunidad de inmigrantes y en medio de llamadas de $100 millones en ayuda, el gobernador Jay Inslee se compromete a por lo menos $40 millones

Seattle, WA — Mientras el Congreso continúa excluyendo a las comunidades indocumentadas y las familias de estatus mixto de la ayuda federal del COVID-19, el estado de Washington está apoyando a los inmigrantes y asegurando que nadie sea olvidado. Como resultado de los continuos esfuerzos de la comunidad indocumentada, el Gobernador Inslee ha anunciado un Fondo de Ayuda para los Trabajadores Inmigrantes de $40 millones que proporcionará asistencia economica para las personas indocumentadas en el estado de Washington. Este paso convierte a Washington en un líder como el segundo estado después de California en proporcionar ayuda pública financiada por el estado a las comunidades indocumentadas.

Mientras la coalición celebra $40 millones en ayuda para las comunidades, el trabajo no se ha acabado y se necesitará mas fondos. Aunque los habitantes de indocumentados de Washington pagan millones de dólares en impuestos, no pueden acceder al desempleo y han sido excluidos de los pagos de estímulo federal. El fondo no es suficiente para capear el profundo impacto de la pandemia hasta ahora y la recesión que está por venir. La coalición pide tanto al Gobernador, la legislatura y a los donantes y financiadores privados que respondan a las necesidades de la comunidad, ayuden a llenar el vacío y creen un sistema de beneficios del desempleo permanente a nivel estatal.

“Desde que comenzó COVID, hemos escuchado las historias de miles de nuestros hermanos indocumentados, incluyendo una madre indocumentada y trabajadora de un restaurante en el Condado de King que perdió su trabajo como resultado de esta pandemia. Su necesidad más urgente era conocer la parte más segura de la ciudad para dormir sin hogar y sin temor a las confrontación de inmigración con sus hijas de 1 año, 4 años y 6 años ”, dijeron Nedra Rivera y Linda Zietlow. Rivera y Zietlow son coordinadores de la línea directa de la Red de Solidaridad con Inmigrantes de Washington (WAISN), una línea comunitaria de confianza {1–844–724–3737} donde las comunidades reportan sobre actividades de inmigración y buscan referencias para ayuda.

En abril, una coalición de organizaciones y líderes inmigrantes indocumentados se formó para exigir la acción inmediata del estado de Washington y del Gobernador Inslee en respuesta a las necesidades urgentes que enfrentan los trabajadores inmigrantes indocumentados debido a la pandemia. El Washington Dream Coalition dirigió una campaña de base que recaudó más de $6 millones para los trabajadores indocumentados en el estado. La ayuda mutua ha apoyado a la comunidad, pero la necesidad supera lo que la ayuda mutua por sí sola puede lograr.

Registrarse aquí para recibir actualizaciones sobre el fondo

Antonio, un residente de Redmond de 20 años, compartió: “He tomado todos los pasos que puedo para intentar y pagar mi renta. He pedido y he recibido ayuda de organizaciones de servicios sociales e iglesias…” La historia de Antonio no es única. Más de 229,000 inmigrantes indocumentados llaman a Washington su hogar, según un informe de la Instituto de Política Migratoria.

La Oficina del Gobernador Inslee anunciara la Solicitud de Propuesta (RFP) buscando una fundación o organización sin fines de lucro que inicialmente recibirá los fondos. Esta entidad involucrará a los líderes comunitarios afectados para garantizar que los fondos de ayuda en casos de desastre lleguen a quienes más necesitan asistencia.

Los miembros de la comunidad indocumentados pueden registrarse aquí para recibir información actualizada sobre los próximos pasos para el fondo. Habrá un proceso de registro separado para solicitar fondos de apoyo, y las aplicaciones aún no están abiertas. Se espera que el programa este listo para apoyar a la comunidad en el otoño.

Las comunidades indocumentadas pagaron $316 millones en impuestos al estado de Washington en 2014 (el año de datos más reciente) solo, según un informe de 2017 de La Institue para la Fiscalidad y la Política Económica. “Estamos tratando de sobrevivir y es frustrante, triste e injusto que una y otra vez no estemos respaldados por el gobierno al que pagamos impuestos cada año”, dijo Corina, una líder inmigrante en el Condado de King. “Contribuimos a un sistema del que no nos estamos beneficiando. Merecemos apoyo, también estamos en la primera línea de esta pandemia al igual que los ciudadanos ”.

“Estuve sin trabajo durante 4 meses acumulando deudas y luchando para pagar mi medicación”, dijo María, quien ha trabajado como limpiadora de casa durante 19 años en Tri-Cities. “Cuando volví al trabajo, mi jefe eligió las ganancias sobre nuestra salud y permitió que los trabajadores que eran COVID19 positivos volvieran al trabajo, lo que nos expuso a todos, y contraje el virus”. Su esposo Marco Antonio, un conductor de tractor en Allans Bros, dijo: “No tener acceso a ninguna ayuda nos obligó a seguir trabajando y resultó en que ambos nos enfermamos. He estado luchando por mi vida durante un mes y todo este tiempo he estado desempleado. Un fondo y el acceso a un programa de beneficios de desempleo como este finalmente le dará a familias como la nuestra el poder de elegir quedarse en casa y priorizar nuestra salud sin preocuparse por llegar a fin de mes.”

As the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network kicks off it’s 2020 Summer Fellowship, it is with great excitement and gratitude that our new fellows get a chance to introduce themselves to its community and supporters. But before we jump into it, here’s a quick introduction to WAISN:

Founded in 2016, WAISN came together in response to the Trump Administration’s targeted attacks on immigrant communities, and to defend immigrant communities against the detention and deportation machine. Now, WAISN is the largest immigration-led coalition in Washington state, home to approximately 1.1 million immigrants, or 15% of Washington’s population. WAISN is made up of a network of individual volunteers and immigrant and refugee-rights organizations that are committed to protecting and serving communities across the state via a rapid response network and hotline, deportation defense, mutual aid initiatives, and accompaniment programs. WAISN works to provide support and resources to build community power across the entire state.

WAISN’s work consists of five different programs:

1. Immigrant Health Response — We are committed to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic to meet the unique needs of immigrant and refugee communities through mutual aid and education. Our WAISN Resource Finder allows communities to find vetted local resources, organized by county.

2. Fair Fight Bond Fund — WAISN helps community members who have been detained obtain funds to pay the bond through the Fair Fight Bond Fund. The Fair Fight Bond Fund gives people in detention a fighting chance and avoid a prolonged detention and higher risk of deportation. The fund provides the bond money that allows detained community members to go back to their lives and families while they build a case to gain status.

3. Deportation Defense/ Rapid-Response system — The hotline receives reports about Immigration Customs Enforcement activity, allowing WAISN to communicate reports to response teams on the ground. Once the activity has been verified by local response teams, WAISN will blast a notice via social media and text alert system.

4. Accompaniment Program — The accompaniment program provides support to those navigating the immigration system and enables volunteers to hold immigration & courthouse personnel authorities accountable. Standing in solidarity with immigrants facing deportation also demonstrates to immigration judges, ICE officers, and government attorneys that there is a community mobilized against their deportation.

5. Hotline — WAISN’s statewide hotline allows community members to report Immigration Custom Enforcement/Custom Border Patrol activity in their community, report the detention of a group or individual, ask for a referral, access Know-Your-Right information and obtain access to any other program or services such as the Fair Fight Bond and Accompaniment. The hotline is essential for WAISN’s rapid response networks to know what is happening on the ground, and quickly enact community defense to immigration enforcement.

This year WAISN has Six Powerful Fellows who will help fulfill WAISN’s mission to build immigrant and refugee power statewide through their positions as Hotline Fellows, Keep Washington Working Fellow, Language Justice Fellow, Immigrant Youth Fellow, & Social Justice Technology Fellow. Read more about us below:

With the knowledge of the abundance and resilience that has grown from the network so far, we look forward to learning and collaborating with immigrant organizers and community members this summer. We are ready to make sure that our community is protected, seen, valued, and heard!

OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR INSLEE, MAJORITY LEADER BILLIG & SPEAKER JINKINS:

STATEMENT BY: Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice Northwest

DATE: Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Dear Governor Inslee, Majority Leader Billig, and Speaker Jinkins:

A few weeks ago the Jewish community observed the festival of Passover, in which we retold and celebrated the biblical story of the Exodus. That story, of a formerly enslaved people securing its freedom and seeking a new future in the Promised Land, is a foundational story in the Jewish spiritual tradition.

That story is, in its essence, a story of migration. And rooted in that story is one of our fundamental spiritual teachings: “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 19:34). Indeed, that teaching is repeated 36 times in our sacred Torah. In our own day, that teaching motivates us within the Jewish community to address issues of immigration. In addition, issues of immigration are of particular concern to those in the Jewish community not only because of our spiritual traditions, but because of our own personal history of immigration to the United States.

In the early part of the 20​ century, waves of Jewish immigrants came to the US, including to Washington State, both seeking better opportunities and fleeing anti-Semitism and persecution in their countries of origin. In this regard, we in the Jewish community see ourselves in the current waves of immigrants to this country.

Through the Johnson-Reed Act in 1924, the US Congress imposed strict immigration quotas that targeted Jews among other communities. Just two decades later those who were unable to emigrate faced the horrors of the Holocaust.

Much of the anti-immigrant and xenophobic sentiment that we hear directed toward today’s immigrants — that they are carriers of disease, that they are unpatriotic, that they will be a public charge — were a century ago directed toward Jews. For the Washington State Jewish community, this is particularly poignant because the lead Congressman in imposing this anti-immigrant legislation, Rep. Albert Johnson, represented Washington’s Third District.

From farm work to food supply to health care to more, immigrants in our country and state provide some of the most essential tasks in our society. At the same time, because of their status, they are also some of the most vulnerable. And now, in the face of the coronavirus, these essential workers do not have the same protections others do and are not receiving appropriate benefits and security.

We recognize that much needs to be done to fix our immigration system in the United States. In the short term, our tradition and history motivates us to ask you to extend compassionate support to all Washington State residents. Specifically we ask you to:

1. Create a “Washington Worker Relief Fund” through the Governor’s office with at least $100 million initially allocated to it. This fund, as outlined from our partners at the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, should be administered by community-based organizations to provide emergency economic assistance to undocumented Washingtonians, so that everyone has access to the relief needed during the pandemic; and,

2. Work with the leadership of the legislative caucuses to create a permanent system that will provide wage replacement protection to workers who lose their jobs and are excluded from the current unemployment insurance system, including undocumented immigrants. Failing to provide a safety net for these workers and their families undermines public health and will hamper the Washington economy’s ability to recover from the pandemic.

This fulfills the Jewish value of ​pikuach nefesh​ — preserving life — by allowing those who are ill or excluded from the benefits of the current unemployment system to focus on recovery rather than putting themselves and others at risk.

We in the Jewish community express our gratitude to you, Governor, for the leadership you have shown ​and difficult decisions you have made in support of the health and economic survival of Washingtonians. Along with our Jesuit colleagues, whose letter of support you received on May 4th, we call upon you to do what the federal government seems unwilling to do: create this program for undocumented families and individuals. As our Jewish tradition teaches us, ​all people regardless of status should benefit from these protections so that ​all ​Washingtonians might recover and rebuild our state.

Sincerely,

Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice Northwest — Seattle, WA

Rabbis

Rabbi David Basior, Kadima Reconstructionist Community — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Olivier BenHaim, Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Sydney Danziger, Temple B’nai Torah — Bellevue, WA

Rabbi Ted Falcon, Paths to Awakening — Bellevue, WA

Rabbi Avi Fine, Temple De Hirsch Sinai — Seattle, WA

Rabbi David Fine — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Allison Flash — Newcastle, WA

Rabbi Seth Goldstein, Temple Beth Hatfiloh — Olympia, WA

Rabbi Bruce Kadden, Temple Beth El — Tacoma, WA

Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg, Congregation Kol Ami — Kirkland, WA

Rabbi Rachel Kort, Temple Beth Or — Everett, WA

Rabbi Lauren Kurland, Congregation Beth Shalom — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Anson Laytner — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Barry Leff, Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation — Mercer Island, WA

Rabbi Jason Levine, Temple Beth Am — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Tamar Malino, Congregation Emanu-el — Spokane, WA

Rabbi Rona B. Matlow — Olympia, WA

Rabbi James Mirel, Bet Chaverim Congregation — Des Moines, WA

Rabbi Sarah Newmark — Gig Harbor, WA

Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, Kavana Cooperative — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Paula Rose, Congregation Beth Shalom — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Joshua Samuels, Congregation Beth Israel — Bellingham, WA

Rabbi Marna Sapsowitz — Olympia, WA

Rabbi Callie Schulman, Temple De Hirsch Sinai — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Kate Speizer, Temple De Hirsch Sinai — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Daniel A. Weiner, Temple De Hirsch Sinai — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Josh Weisman, Kavana Cooperative — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Zari M. Weiss, Kol HaNeshamah — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Elana Zaiman — Seattle, WA

Rabbi Ruth Zlotnick, Temple Beth Am — Seattle, WA

Organizations

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action-Seattle — Seattle, WA

Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue — Seattle, WA

Congregation Beth Shalom — Seattle, WA

Congregation Emanu-el — Spokane, WA

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation — Mercer Island, WA

Jewish Family Service, Rabbi Will Berkovitz, CEO — Seattle, Kent, and Redmond, WA

Kavana Cooperative — Seattle, WA

Kadima Reconstructionist Community — Seattle, WA

Never Again, Seattle — Seattle, WA

Seattle Hadassah, Ettie Davis, President — Seattle, WA

Temple Beth Am — Seattle, WA

Temple Beth Or — Everett, WA

Immigrant Advocacy Group Launches Vetted COVID-19 Resource Finder for Undocumented Families in Washington State

WAISN Resource Finder provides vetted, trusted COVID-19 resources to immigrants and organizations — Over 800 resources are listed in a county-by-county database

Washington 5/5/2020: The Washington State Department of Health revealed that while Latino and Hispanic communities make up only 13% of the population, they account for 25% of confirmed cases in the state. According to a King County health official, their rate of death is 2.5 times that of their white neighbors.

“We may all be in the same storm, but we’re in radically different boats,” said Brenda Rodriguez Lopez, co-director of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN). “Our immigrant neighbors are living in fear, with little to no support from the federal or state government. This is why we launched the WAISN Resource Finder, a vetted resource for our undocumented neighbors.”

The WAISN Resource Finder is an online tool that allows anyone to search through a comprehensive database of resources available to immigrants and refugees in their county. Each resource listed includes services, contact information, accessibility, languages spoken, and whether or not the service requires identification.

The comprehensive vetted information in the database is continually collected by WAISN partners and volunteers to ensure diverse resource categories. Additionally, a significant portion of the resources are Latinx-driven, collecting further data to spot any new trends or impacted groups, aiding the network in its rapid response work to support populations at highest risk to COVID-19.

“This could quite literally be a life-saver for our clients,” said a community partner. “By providing this resource, WAISN has increased the entire sector’s capacity to respond to the great need our organization is facing in the wake of this virus.”

While the tool is made available for community organizations online, WAISN has also created an internal structure that allows community members, who call the WAISN HOTLINE with questions regarding COVID-19, to be transferred to researchers with vetting access and case managers.

“Projects like this show the potential for collaboration between community organizations and the tech sector,” says Anthony Goss, WAISN’s innovative tech-tool lead. “I am grateful for the chance to use the skills I’ve learned in support of WAISN and my immigrant neighbors.”

While the resource is launching Tuesday, May 5th, it will be continually added and edited as new resources are introduced, or as previous resources run out of funds. WAISN is always looking for volunteers to help with the bilingual hotline (844–724–3737) and the new resource finder. If interested, sign up https://bit.ly/2YAlGc0 to join our efforts.

ISSUED BY: Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN). WAISN is the largest immigrant-led coalition in Washington state, working to protect and advance the power of immigrants and refugee communities through a multiracial, multilingual, and multi-faith coalition made up of over 250 organizational members.

Washington State Organizations in Support of Immigrants Raise One Million Dollars for Undocumented Residents Impacted by Coronavirus

SEATTLE, WA: Over 250,000 undocumented immigrants call Washington home. These communities don’t benefit from the $2 trillion CARES Act, can’t access unemployment benefits, and continue to face barriers to access healthcare and basic resources to survive this pandemic.

As the nationwide death toll soars past 50,000 and jobless claims are on track to reach one million in Washington State, undocumented communities continue to suffer some of the worst effects of the virus. In the absence of government relief, undocumented-led organizations and allies have stood together to raise over $1 million dollars, the largest single statewide fund for undocumented folks in the country.

“This milestone proves the power and support of our undocumented & immigrant communities is growing,” says Monserrat Padilla, Co-Director of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network. “Undocumented & immigrant communities are the backbone of this country as your healthcare providers, your delivery drivers, your food supply & farm workers, your teachers and childcare givers — the essential workers who are helping us get through the pandemic. We must include everyone on the safety net programs that are keeping us all healthy and safe under this pandemic.”

Create a Washington Worker Relief Fund

The fund has received over 14,000 applicants requesting aid highlighting the real systemic gap and burden the broader community is facing. Many are facing this pandemic alone. Undocumented folks are overrepresented in industries that have been decimated by the pandemic. Restaurants, hospitality, landscaping, construction, agriculture and many more are being deemed essential businesses that depend on the immigrant workforce with little to no protection. Often living paycheck to paycheck, undocumented workers suddenly face the prospect of serious illness and complete loss of income with no safety net for themselves or their families.

This fund is helping to bridge that gap.

The fund supports families fleeing from domestic violence, people who have contracted COVID-19, single mothers, cancer patients, people with diabetes, people suffering from multiple sclerosis, and more. The grants can be used to get through the pandemic, such as rent, bills, food, and medical treatments.

As of now, the fund is prioritizing grants to those whose work, home or health have been impacted by the COVID19 outbreak; people who are high risk, including those who are Black or LGBTQ; and individuals experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of losing their housing.

“There is no application or situation more worthy of approval than another,” says Alejandra Pérez, Organizer with the Washington Dream Coalition. “We’re frustrated that even with this huge milestone — $1 million dollars — we still need to make difficult decisions on who gets relief. The reality is that the government, the one they all pay taxes to each month, should be footing the bill.”

Federal and state governments have failed to provide basic relief for communities who were excluded from unemployment insurance and unfairly left out of federal stimulus measures. These communities are disproportionately likely to lack access to paid sick leave or health insurance and are being forced to bear the brunt of a pandemic alone.

“This fund is proof of what immigrants have always done: taken care of each other. When our government fails us time and time again, we will keep standing together to fight for what we deserve: basic humanity in the eyes of our legislators, the healthcare system and dignity in our labor”, says Daniela Murguia, Organizer with Washington Dream Coalition.

Our work does not end here. We will continue to share the need we’re seeing as we talk to Foundations, as we talk to big donors, and as we bring new partners into our efforts. That’s why today, we’re raising our fundraising goal to two million dollars. Together, we can help over 2,000 undocumented families suffering during this unprecedented global pandemic.

Learn more about the fund and help us reach our new goal below:

Relief | COVID-19 Relief Fund for WA Undocumented Folks

ISSUED BY: Washington Dream Coalition, Scholarship Junkies, Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Entre Hermanos, Somos Seattle, SWWA LULAC Council, Vancouver NAACP, Latino Community Resource Group, Clark County Latino Youth Conference

WRITE AN EMAIL & CALL YOUR SENATORS: 1–800–562–6000

We need you to write an email and call your State Senators to support SHB 2567, and vote to pass it without amendments. This bill is essential to our immigrant & refugee communities and we depend on it to continue having access to justice.

Courthouses are places where people go to seek justice, pay fines, and participate in civil society. Yet over the past two years, there have been more than 200 documented civil arrests at courthouses in over 18 counties across the state. People are forced to risk arrest and deportation when coming to court, simply because of where they were born. Demand protection for our courthouses. Urge your legislator to support SHB 2567. This bill builds community trust in our judicial system, prohibits civil arrests from disrupting local court functioning, and preserves access to our courts for everyone.

HELP US PROTECT OUR COMMUNITIES FROM THE PAIN OF FAMILY SEPARATION:

WAISN Hotline Stories of Courthouse Arrests:

Last Seen:

• In October 2018, a single mother went to the courthouse in Othello, Adams County regarding a car accident she had been involved in. She never came home to her children ranging in ages from 10 months to 10 years old. Her oldest child received a call from her 14 days later reporting she was in Tacoma and had been detained by ICE as she was leaving the courthouse.
• In April 2019, a caller reported possible apprehension of family member. His brother in law went to the Ephrata courthouse in Grant County on March 25 to pay a traffic ticket and was not heard from again. His family had been trying to locate him. The hotline volunteer looked on ICE locator and found that he is detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA.

Practices and Tactics of Arrests:

• In August 2018, a woman called to report her husband being picked up by ICE 10 minutes before his court hearing at the Yakima courthouse in Yakima County.
• In August 2019, a criminal defense attorney called to report ICE in civilian clothing in a tan Suburban/Yukon at the Ephrata, Grant County courthouse. She recognized the ICE officers from a few weeks prior when they detained her client outside of the court. She believes they are targeting the 10:30am district docket with predominantly Latino names.

Requesting Accompaniment to Access The Halls of Justice:

• In February 2019, a community member was given a ticket by the WA State Patrol because he was speeding. He went to Franklin County Court and was assigned a lawyer. He called to request accompaniment at his next court date at the same court because he is worried that ICE might arrest him after his case is settled.
• In April 2019, a mother requested accompaniment to the Ephrata Grant, County courthouse to obtain her US citizen children’s passport.

TAKE ACTION: EMAIL & CALL

WRITE AN EMAIL TO YOUR SENATOR: CLICK HERE

Call Everyday Up to March 6:

Click HERE to find your Senator’s contact information.

Once connected, tell your Senator:

(CALLING SCRIPT) “My name is ________, and I’m a constituent of Senator ______. I’m calling to ask Senator _____ to support SHB 2567. To create safe and thriving communities, everyone needs to feel safe showing up to court, to be a witness in a crime, file a witness protection order, or to pay a fine. Yet in 18 counties across Washington, ICE and Border Patrol have made over 200 civil arrests at courthouses. I care about this issue because [insert reason, examples below]

No one should be afraid to go to court because of their immigration status: Fear in immigrant communities is deterring people from going to court. When people do not come to court, justice and safety for everyone suffers.

Access to courts is essential for full participation in society: Coming to court should be encouraged. Fear and intimidation should not stop individuals from fully participating in society and from engaging with our justice system.

Will Senator ____ vote for SHB 2567 on the floor with no amendments?”

Issued By: Somos Seattle, Yakima Immigrant Response Network, National Immigrant Justice Center, Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network, Familia Trans Queer Liberation Movement, Santa Fe Dreamers Project, La Resistencia, Yakima Pride, Traction, Seattle DSA, Tacoma DSA, Alphabet Alliance of Color, U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle, The TransLatin@ Coalition

Yakima, WA 1/28/2020: At around 9AM today, 14 trans women in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody arrived at the Yakima Air Terminal on a flight chartered by ICE and then transported to the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC), in Tacoma.

Immigration detention has no place in Washington State, or anywhere else. Like all people, immigrants belong with their families and communities. For Transgender immigrants detention means harassment, neglect, and bodily violence at the hands of officers and others inside the detention center. The LGBTQ Immigrant & Refugee Coalition in Washington state and our national partners demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) come into compliance with the recently enacted 2020 Appropriations Act by immediately releasing all transgender people currently in ICE custody.

The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network convened the LGBTQ Immigrant & Refugee Coalition in February of 2019 to create a holistic post release program that is equipped to identify, support & empower LGBTQ immigrant & refugee communities targeted by Trump’s detention and deportation machine.

Previously, The New Mexico Cibola Detention Center had been housing many trans asylum seekers. On Friday January 24th 2020, the Santa Fe Dreamers Project shared news that the Cibola Trans-Pod was closing down, and that ICE had planned to move 30+ trans asylum seekers to Colorado & Washington state. Immediately after, the WA LGBTQ Immigrant & Refugee Coalition began to coordinate legal support, as well as during detention and post detention community solutions for the trans women being transferred to NWDC.

The Yakima Immigrant Response Network, Central Washington Justice for Our Neighbors & Yakima Pride were alerted last night of the flight arriving today, and greeted the trans woman being transferred with trans & pride flags and signs of “#NoEstanSolas”

Danielle Surkatty from the Yakima Immigrant Response Network shared this, “The women looked over at us pretty quick, so we’re thinking they knew we were there. The observers went out to the road after the men had all boarded the plane and waited by the road for the women’s bus to pull out. We could see them waving at us through the shaded/grilled windows as the bus pulled out.”

Since 2004, the NWDC has created misery and suffering for tens of thousands of immigrants, who have been caged for weeks, months, and sometimes years while awaiting the resolution of their civil deportation proceedings. People detained have repeatedly made their opposition to their incarceration clear through hunger strikes, work stoppages, and other forms of protest. For many populations, including queer and trans people, people living with disabilities and serious illnesses, and people who are pregnant and/or parenting, detention brings extra forms of suffering that cannot be mitigated except by the closure of the facility.

Earlier this week 90 organizations led by the Translatina Coalition and the National Immigrant Justice Center came together to demand that ICE release all transgender immigrants. The letter highlights recent language in the report accompanying the 2020 spending bill requiring ICE to come into compliance with its own 2015 guidance regarding the detention of transgender immigrants, which it has failed dismally to do. This congressional directive, therefore, obligates ICE to immediately release all transgender individuals currently in its custody.

Trans & Queer immigrant detainees and activists have documented the malicious and targeted abuses transgender migrants suffer in custody. Ranging from transphobic harassment to sexual assault to medical negligence and even death, ICE continues to target and detain transgender people while failing to meet even its own minimal standards of care as set by its 2015 directive.

Monserrat Padilla, Director of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network shares, “Our community has experienced this over and over. There is no adequate nor humane way of protecting LGBTQ immigrants in detention centers. Even after ICE has tried to reform its detention system, too many of our people have died in detention centers waiting for them to get it right. We can no longer wait. We want to end trans detention because our communities and our lives are at risk with every single delay.”

How To Take Action

1. Donate to the Commissary and the Fair Fight Bond Fund #EndTransDetention Fundraising Campaign
2. Mobilize folks on Saturday February 1st from 1:30PM — 3:30PM for the Shutdown Rally Outside NWDC (FB Event HERE) and/or Organize a solidarity day at the Detention Center (1623 E J St, Tacoma, WA 98421)
3. Learn more about the #ShutdownNWDC campaign and endorse as an organization or group here. Or, help us spread the word and get other groups to endorse!
4. Integrate the Ban Private Prisons Bill (HB 2576 | SB 6442) or other campaign-related activities into your organizational efforts (eg lobby days, member meeting).
5. Sign & share this petition as an individual to demand that Tacoma City Council declare NWDC a chronic public nuisance and shut down the detention center once and for all.
6. Having a sponsor who is willing to provide housing and support for at least 6 months makes it more likely that an asylum seeker can be released on bond to fight their asylum case with greater access to legal support, medical care, and community. Could you be one of those sponsors? Fill out the sponsor interest form here: https://bit.ly/2rmpu2n
7. Support the Leadership of Queer & Trans Black, Indigenous & People of Color Passing Of Knowledge on January 31st from 6PM — 8PM hosted by the Alphabet Alliance of Color @ the Bertha Landes Room at City Hall (600 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104)

Seattle, WA 1/7/2020: The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) reported Sunday that up to 150 Iranians and Iranian-Americans experienced extremely long delays and about 60 of them were detained and questioned at length at the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine, WA this weekend. Those detained reported having their passports held while they were questioned about their political views and allegiances. See http://bit.ly/detainedinblaine

These reports, as well as information from a source at Customs & Border Protection (CBP) that CBP has heightened questioning of communities of Iranian heritage, are being investigated by CAIR-WA, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), and other advocacy organizations, as well as the offices of Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Senator Patty Murray, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, Congressman Rick Larsen, Congressman Adam Smith, Governor Jay Inslee, Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib, the Washington State Attorney General, the Port of Seattle and more.

WAISN is closely monitoring this unfolding situation, is coordinating with state and national allies, and has placed some of its Rapid Response Teams on alert in the event people are needed at the Canadian border or SeaTac airport to support and protect our communities constitutional rights through bystander documentation.

Our communities are powerful and resilient. Our network of immigrant and refugee-rights organizations and individuals distributed across Washington State will continue to protect, serve and strengthen all communities in our state. It is in these times that we must remind each other that we have rights, and that our families belong together and free without fear of violence or persecution.

In the meantime, here’s how you can help:

• Share Know Your Rights information to Iranian-American friends and communities: https://www.cair.com/KnowYourRights and/or http://bit.ly/IranianAmericanCommunityAdvisory
• If you have personal knowledge of an Iranian or Iranian-American (or anyone else) detained at any port of entry into Washington State, or a family of a detained person in need of assistance, or if you are willing to share your personal experience if you were detained, please contact any or all of the following:

1. WAISN hotline: 1–844–724–3737;
2. CAIR-WA: www.cairwa.org; for legal assistance, complete this form;
3. Iranian American Bar Association: www.iaba.us; those detained can fill out their confidential intake form here;
4. Rep. Jayapal’s office (for personal stories/requests): WA07PJ_casework@mail.house.gov

• We need to continue growing our powerful community Rapid Response teams to be organized in solidarity. WAISN will be holding two online trainings on Tuesday 1/14/20 & Wednesday 1/22/20 from 5–7PM. Sign up here: http://bit.ly/waisnrapidresponsetraining
• Stay tuned for more information about actions and events being planned by local and national organizations here: http://bit.ly/waisnstayintouch
• Follow this developing story and raise awareness on social media about what happened to Iranian-Americans to help ensure this does not happen again to Iranian-Americans or any of us. You can remain updated via the WAISN listserv and/or Facebook page, or directly follow CAIR-Washington and/or NWIRP on Facebook.
• Contact your senators and congressional representative* and convey:

1. You are concerned about reports that Iranians and Iranian-Americans have been targeted based on their national origin and/or were detained at the Canadian border, and you want your representative to investigate and hold Customs & Border Protection and the Dept. of Homeland Security accountable.

2. You urge passage of the NO BAN Act, which would repeal all versions of the Muslim ban, refugee ban, and asylum ban; change immigration law to prevent discrimination based on religion; and limit executive authority to prevent any president from issuing future discriminatory bans again.

*Phone numbers and email contact for your Senators and Congressional Representatives:

Senator Patty Murray: (202) 224–2621 https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme

Senator Maria Cantwell: (202) 224–3441 https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/contact/email/form

District 1: Rep. Suzan DelBene (202) 225–6311 https://delbene.house.gov/contact/

District 2: Rep. Rick Larsen (202) 225–2605 https://larsen.house.gov/contact-rick

District 3: Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (202) 225–3536 https://herrerabeutler.house.gov/contact/

District 4: Rep. Dan Newhouse (202) 225–5816 https://newhouse.house.gov/contact

District 5: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (202) 225–2006 https://mcmorris.house.gov/contact/

District 6: Rep. Derek Kilmer (202) 225–5916 https://kilmer.house.gov/contact/email-me

District 7: Rep. Pramila Jayapal (202) 225–3106 https://jayapal.house.gov/contact/email/

District 8: Rep. Kim Schrier (202) 225–7761 https://schrier.house.gov/zip-code-lookup?form=/contact/email-me

District 9: Rep. Adam Smith (202) 225–8901 https://adamsmith.house.gov/email-me

District 10: Rep. Denny Heck (202) 225–9740 https://dennyheck.house.gov/contact

Not sure which district you’re in? Look up your representative by zip code here: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network is a powerful coalition of nearly 200 immigrant and refugee rights organizations and individuals in over 22 counties across Washington state that strive to protect, serve, and strengthen our communities. The role of the network is to provide support, capacity, and resources to organizations whose efforts build power and a united voice in Washington. Learn more here www.WAISN.org

As Temperatures Drop, Immigration Enforcement Sightings At Faith-Based Emergency Shelters May Deter Families From Accessing Life-Saving Services

PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED BY: Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN), Redmond United Methodist Church, Church Council of Greater of Seattle, Muslim Association of Puget Sound — American Muslim Empowerment Network (MAPS-AMEN), Centro Cultural Mexicano

MEDIA CONTACT: Tyna Ek, tyna.ek@gmail.com

Redmond, WA (Nov. 27, 2019): Over the weekend of November 22–24, 2019, Redmond United Methodist Church (UMC) and the New Bethlehem Day Center in Kirkland reported two separate incidents of potential immigration enforcement-related activity to the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN). In coordination with the respective organizations, with the support of local elected officials and by following the appropriate chain of command to multiple potential enforcement agencies, we are investigating the reported activity, with the hope to provide clarity to the community and demand transparency and accountability from the immigration-related agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

On November 23rd, a social worker working at the family shelter offered at Redmond UMC reported seeing a U.S. Customs and Border Protection marked vehicle at 12:44am parked across the street from the shelter/church on 80th St in Redmond, WA.

There was a woman standing outside the vehicle with the insignia of “U.S. Customs & Border Protection: Field Operations” talking to the people inside the vehicle. This same woman had come inside the shelter earlier that evening (11/22) around 8:30pm when the shelter opened, representing herself to be someone in need of housing and asking questions about the facility and about a specific family at the shelter composed of a father, mother and two small children.

As further elaborated by Laurie Biethan:

“….. Immediately before she entered, the targeted family had somehow realized that the situation was not safe, so they left their meals uneaten and some of their belongings behind and slipped out a side door. Nobody saw them leave.

Believing the agent was genuinely in need, the social worker got her more information about the women’s shelter. The agent then began peppering the social worker with questions: Could she see our kitchen? (No, that was for staff only.) What was in that closet? (A washer and dryer.) Could she see it? (No, same reason.) The social workers, confused, offered her a meal and a bus ticket to get to the women’s shelter, but she turned them down. The agent then walked out the door.

She returned several minutes later while the social worker was occupied with our other families and used the time to approach residents of the shelter, attempting to get information about the targeted family. She started by asking our residents questions like, “Where do you go in the mornings? Where do the kids go to school?” and then continued with, “I’m looking for a family that looks white, but isn’t.” When the social worker discovered her harassing our other guests, she was asked to leave…”

On Sunday, November 24, around 2pm, it was reported that the woman who had been asking questions about a specific family — and was then seen talking to the CBP-marked vehicle outside Redmond UMC — showed up at the New Bethlehem Day Center for homeless families in Kirkland. Additional details are being investigated.

The Redmond United Methodist Church provides space for an Emergency Winter Shelter, operated by Catholic Community Services to shelter families who are experiencing homelessness during the months of October-December.

“A key tenet of our faith is to welcome the stranger with compassion and care,” stated Rev. Lara Bolger, pastor at Redmond UMC. She continued: “We’ve been doing that by providing shelter for people experiencing homelessness in partnership with other social service organizations, faith-based organizations, community members, local businesses, and our local government with full support and without interference for over 25 years. We are very concerned about the fear this has caused and want to continue working with others to create a safe and loving community for all people, especially those who are most vulnerable.”

Since the immigration-related activity was reported to WAISN, we have been conducting a series of information gathering actions including:

• engaging with individual Redmond City Councilmembers and Redmond Police Department to determine whether there was any knowledge of any immigration-enforcement activity in Redmond & Kirkland, and raising community concerns about any such actions.
• issuing public records requests seeking information and dash-cam footage about these incidents.
• communicating with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), which responded “ICE does not target sensitive locations, nor was ICE involved in any enforcement actions in the vicinity or time period you indicated.” (Melissa Nitsch, Community Relations Officer at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), via email on Nov 25, 2019 at 9:30AM PST)
• communicating with U.S. Border Patrol, which responded: “There were no U.S. Border Patrol personnel involved in any enforcement actions at the Redmond United Methodist Church or in the city of Redmond, Washington.” (statement by CBP provided on Nov. 25 via Melissa Nitsch)
• reaching out to U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) via telephone and email. we’re waiting for their response.
• engaging local, county, state and federal officials to urgently inquire with CBP on any and all activity conducted in or near these two sensitive locations with the goal of receiving clarity and transparency from the agency on their procedures and actions.
• coordinating with local organizations to provide training and resources to the community and to sensitive locations including shelters.
• continuing to discuss these urgent safety concerns with other faith leaders, law enforcement and governmental officials.

While we are working to resolve these troubling reports, we recommend community service providers — including shelters and food banks — take the following actions to protect our communities’ access to life-saving resources and support.

• Share the sensitive location protocol from FOOD LIFELINE and El Centro De La Raza
• Train your team in Deportation Defense (waisn.org/deportation-defense) and post a WAISN Workplace Audit & Raids Protocol at your site: English & Spanish
• Remind our broader immigrant and refugee communities that #WeHaveRights and to create their Deportation Defense plan and team by downloading on their mobile phones Notifica (https://notifica.us/).
• If you or your family are directly contacted by any immigration enforcement agencies and/or are directly impacted in any other way, call the WAISN Hotline (1–844–724–3737) for assistance.
• If you or your organization, facility, institution and/or group witness any immigration activity by ICE or CBP, report it as soon as possible to our WAISN Hotline (1–844–724–3737). Please exercise your rights to take pictures and/or video recordings, and we highly recommend NOT to post on social media or other platforms until the reports have been verified by WAISN through our rapid response teams across the state.
• If any community member witnessed either of the two incidents at Redmond UMC or the Day Center in Kirkland, and/or has any pictures, video recordings, or further information, please reach out as soon as possible to info@waisn.org.

“No one should have to choose between dealing with immigration matters or accessing shelter and food,” stated Aneelah Afzali, WAISN Steering Committe member and Executive Director of the American Muslim Empowerment Network at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS-AMEN). She added: “We stand firm and united as a larger community on the Eastside and beyond against any immigration enforcement activity by CBP or other DHS agencies at places of worship and shelters providing life-saving resources. We will continue to work collectively toward ensuring safety and livelihood to all members of our human family.”

The aggressive border and interior enforcement of the last three years has wrought havoc in the lives of families. Families belong together and free from violence and persecution. People without homes and people who migrate in order to survive suffer from trauma, while striving for peace and safety in their lives. The witnessed presence of a CBP vehicle in a sensitive location, specifically a church building, raises the level of fear in our communities, both among those seeking shelter and those in the immigration process. We object to any presence of immigration-enforcement at “sensitive locations” in the strongest possible terms, and will hold agencies and elected officials accountable to ensure transparency, accountability and justice.

Our communities are resilient and powerful. We stand together as immigrants and their families and loved ones, people of faith, community leaders, and social service providers to say that we reaffirm our solidarity with one another. When held together by the circle of community, our bond together cannot be broken. “Like a tree standing by the water, we shall not be moved.”

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:

• Rev. Lara Bolger, Redmond United Methodist Church, pastor@redmondumc.org
• Laurie Biethan, Redmond UMC Shelter, laurie.biethan@gmail.com
• Aneelah Afzali, MAPS-AMEN and WAISN, aneelah@mapsredmond.org
• Carlos Jimenez, Centro Cultural Mexicano, carlos@centroculturalmexicano.org
• Michael Ramos, Church Council of Greater Seattle and WAISN, mramos@thechurchcouncil.org

The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network is a powerful coalition of over 100 immigrant and refugee rights organizations and individuals in 22 counties across Washington state that strive to protect, serve, and strengthen our communities. The role of the network is to provide support, capacity, and resources to organizations whose efforts build power and a united voice in Washington. Learn more here www.WAISN.org

Faith partners, immigrant rights advocates, community organizations & neighborhood members are at the courthouses right now and throughout the entire week in central & eastern Washington ensuring our immigrant & refugee communities can access the halls of justice.

The courthouse is a core state civic institution that can be vital to public safety and the provision of due process. ICE has exhibited extreme disregard for the integrity of the court system and the safety of our broader communities. Since January of 2018, WAISN’s hotline has received hundreds of calls reporting sightings, immigration activity and detentions inside, outside, or near the courthouse in Adams, Grant, Franklin, Okanogan, Yakima, Skagit and Thurston counties. The highest volume of calls and reports are from Grant and Adams counties with more than one report a week.

As we became aware of the reprehensible practices of ICE and CBP in courthouses, and the collusion of courthouse personnel, we notified community members through social media and as of this week; now in person standing outside the courthouse through #CourtWatch… that ICE and CBP is conducting arrests at the courthouses particularly in Ephrata, Grant County and Othello, Adams County.

As an attempt to encourage the County Commissioners to take action we have launched ongoing phone bank campaigns and met with Grant County Commissioners to urge them to release guidance directing court personnel not to facilitate federal immigration enforcement activities in the course of their employment, unless required by a judicial order.

Due to the increase of arrests at courthouses and due to the community’s fear of being apprehended, WAISN is now offering accompaniment requested through the Hotline. This is a community attempt to make courthouses accessible to people so they continue with their civil court matters, access services, appear as witnesses, and file protection orders.

WAISN began to do accompaniment in the fall of 2018 in collaboration with member organizations including:

• Church Council of Greater Seattle
• Central Washington Justice for Our Neighbors
• Spokane Immigrant Rights Coalition
• Walla Walla Immigrant Rights Coalition
• Seattle Democratic Socialist of America
• Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center
• Washington Defenders Association
• Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice NW

WAISN’s Accompaniment efforts trains volunteers to walk side-by-side with immigrants during this intimidating process. If an arrest by immigration officials happens during an accompaniment, we notified the person’s family members. Volunteers are there to remind community members of:

• their constitutional rights,
• to document the arrest with their cell phone camera, and
• to ask to see a judicial warrant.

While we cannot guarantee that the community members will not be apprehended by immigration officers, it can relieve some of the community’s fears and anxiety. In our experience, people want to resolve their civil court matters, it is also their right to due process under the U.S Constitution regardless of nationality or citizenship status. They are requesting accompaniment because the obstacle preventing them from doing that is ICE and CBP officers at the courthouse.

The apprehensions conducted by ICE and CBP officers and their presence at courthouses in the state of Washington continues to have a chilling effect on immigrants and their families, and undermines public confidence in the courts. WAISN has been investing its limited resources and staff time for the past two years to make courthouses accessible to immigrant communities. Despite our efforts, community members continue to miss their court hearings due to the rise in fear of family separation and deportation; and they are losing trust in the judicial system.

Courthouse personnel continues to collude with ICE and CBP agents while arrests continue to increase every day. Chilling effect on access to the courts is profound. Immigrants and their families are increasingly afraid of appearing in State courts due to fear of ICE. Also, fear of the courts can prevent people from going to court to obtain protective orders, defend against criminal charges, or seek protection against abusive employers and landlords.

We need to mobilize and ensure our courts are protected! #CourtWatch Week of Action

WAISN member organizations, partners and leaders will be leading #CourtWatch efforts in Grant & Adams County the entire week, but we need your help!

• Bring Accompaniment To Your County By Training Your Team!
• Sign up to be an Accompaniment Volunteer!
• Your Organization can Co-Pilot a #CourtWatch Day in front of Grant or Adams County!

WAISN Hotline Stories of Courthouse Arrest:

Last Seen:

• In August 2018, a family member called about a young man who went to court on a Monday in Moses Lake, Grant County for a hearing and he had not been heard from since.
• In October 2018, a single mother went to the courthouse in Othello, Adams County regarding a car accident she had been involved in. She never came home to her children ranging in ages from 10 months to 10 years old. Her oldest child received a call from her 14 days later reporting she was in Tacoma and had been detained by ICE as she was leaving the courthouse.
• In April 2019, a caller reported possible apprehension of family member. His brother in law went to the Ephrata courthouse in Grant County on March 25 to pay a traffic ticket and was not heard from again. His family had been trying to locate him. The hotline volunteer looked on ICE locator and found that he is detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA.
• In August 2019, a man called to report his wife missing in Grant County. He suspects immigration arrested her at the courthouse.

Practices and Tactics of Arrests

• In July 2018, an Othello Community Clinic Case Manager reported their client’s husband had been detained by ICE when he was at the Othello courthouse in Adams County after attempting to address court matters. ICE was at the court and waited for him to leave the courthouse to then detain him.
• In August 2018, a woman called to report her husband being picked up by ICE 10 minutes before his court hearing at the Yakima courthouse in Yakima County.
• In August 2019, a criminal defense attorney called to report ICE in civilian clothing in a tan Suburban/Yukon at the Ephrata, Grant County courthouse. She recognized the ICE officers from a few weeks prior when they detained her client outside of the court. She believes they are targeting the 10:30am district docket with predominantly Latino names.

Requesting Accompaniment:

• In February 2019, a community member was given a ticket by the WA State Patrol because he was speeding. He went to Franklin County Court and was assigned a lawyer. He called to request accompaniment at his next court date at the same court because he is worried that ICE might arrest him after his case is settled.
• In April 2019, a mother requested accompaniment to the Ephrata Grant, County courthouse to obtain her US citizen children’s passport.
• In April 2019, a community member from Everett, Snohomish County requested accompaniment to court because his ex-girlfriend was seeking a restraining order against him and he had to be present.
• In October 2019, community member being charged with domestic violence requested accompaniment to Ephrata, Grant County.

REPORTS:

• UW Center for Human Rights: Justice Compromised: Immigration Arrest at Washington State Courthouse
• Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network: Immigration Enforcement at Washington State Courthouses • Summary of Preliminary Data

News To Read:

• Oregon Public Broadcasting: Oregon Supreme Court Justice Bars Warrantless ICE Courthouse Arrests by Conrad Wilson
• Crosscut: County prosecutors are sharing information with ICE & Border Patrol to facilitate courthouse arrest by Lilly Fowler
• Columbia Basin Herald: County Prosecutor Responds to Report He Facilitated Border Patrol Courthouse Arrests by Emry Dinman
• Crosscut: More immigrants report arrests at WA courthouse, despite outcry by Lilly Fowler
• The Olympian: ICE arrest at Thurston County courthouse begs the question: What does sanctuary mean?​ by Sara Gentzler

In community,

The WAISN Team