‘Our communities are truly at risk’: Washington advocacy groups urge state leaders to defy federal deportation policies following surprise immigration raids in California

Local immigrant and human rights organizations at a virtual news conference Thursday urged Washington state leaders to resist deportation policies.

“At the onset of mass deportation threats by the new federal administration, we know that actions will take place. They’re not just threats,” said Malou Chavez, executive director at Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. “… Our communities are truly at risk of family separation, detention and deportation.”

After a surprise immigration raid in Bakersfield, California, on Jan. 7, immigrant and human rights advocates in Washington held the virtual news conference to urge Gov. Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown to take action. Through a joint letter, they called for expanding the use of pardons and clemency and directing the Department of Corrections to cease cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Since winning the 2024 presidential race, President-elect Donald Trump has continued promising to undertake “the largest deportation in the history of our country,” assembling a “deportation force” that would include federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

And for many in Spokane, Bakersfield served as a stark introduction to the reality of his looming promise.

The news conference, led by Chavez, featured speakers from various organizations, including Danielle Alvarado of Working Washington, Bunthay Cheam of the Khmer Anti-deportation and Advocacy Group, Edgar Franks of Familias Unidas por la Justicia, Marriam Oliver of the Black Prisoners’ Caucus, Jennie Pasquarella of the Seattle Clemency Project, and Brenda Rodríguez López of the Washington Immigrant and Solidarity Network.

State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, representing the 37th Legislative District, also briefly attended, and opened the meeting with her support.

“All our agencies should comply with the spirit and the intent of this legislation, including our State Department of Corrections,” Saldaña said. “There should not be double standards nor double jeopardy for anyone in our country and in our state.

“If someone has done their time, they should not be punished again.”

Samuel Smith, an immigration attorney at Manzanita House – a nonprofit organization supporting immigrants and refugees – said the impact extends beyond individuals to their children and entire families.

“Being detained or, like, arrested at their homes is traumatic as it is, even if they’re released a day or two later,” Smith said. “If you see your parents being arrested and taken away in handcuffs by law enforcement, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

For the last month, Smith said the organization has been leading “Know Your Rights” presentations with Spokane Community College to inform community members of their rights in case they come across Border Patrol.

“We did one with the Barton English language school out of First Presbyterian, and then we did one with the Center for Inclusion and Diversity at Spokane Community College. Between those two events, we had about 150 people show up,” Smith said.

However, Border Patrol is no stranger to Spokane. In 2017, the agency was boarding buses at the Spokane Greyhound bus station and arresting people, sparking fears that the agency might be racially profiling individuals.

In 2018, the Spokane City Council attempted to restrict the ability of immigration enforcement to board buses in the Spokane Intermodal Center with an ordinance that barred the Border Patrol from entering city property without a warrant or permission from the mayor.

Former Spokane Mayor David Condon argued that city employees don’t have the authority to prevent immigration officials from entering city property.

Additionally, with the Intermodal Center being within the 100-mile border zone, according to the Immigration and Nationality Act, it allowed federal immigration officials to enter vehicles without the warrant.

This continued until 2021, when Greyhound Lines, the nation’s largest intercity bus company, stopped letting immigration agents conduct warrantless sweeps of its buses and stations. Within the last year, Border Patrol has also been banned from accessing Spokane Public Schools.

However, Antonio De Loera-Brust, communications director for United Farm Workers, emphasized that even if Border Patrol is prohibited from doing warrantless sweeps in certain areas, the agency can still operate there, making it essential for individuals to stay informed, connect to local organizations and attend workshops that educate them about their rights.

“It also does not mean that just because a city council says these are areas of sanctuary city, that does not mean that Border Patrol cannot operate there,” De Loera-Brust said. “I think that one lesson certainly to take away from the events in Kern County is that we may be seeing more examples of what we saw last week.”

Smith echoed De Loera-Brust’s statement and said that while the Spokane Police Department have stated they aren’t involved in federal immigration detention, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t necessarily have the same policies.

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels told Spokane Public Radio last month that Washington law enforcement agencies are subject to a law that forbids officers from inquiring about a person’s immigration status if there is no crime involved. If the person is suspected of a crime, officers can ask; they then have the choice of providing the information to federal authorities.

“I’ll be honest that I don’t know that we have the capacity to take part in any of those things. I think there are some different things that would have to happen. We don’t have the authority to enforce federal civil violations,” Nowels said.

In response to the news conference and joint letter, Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse said the federal government’s responsibility is to protect the safety of the people in the country and it is a necessity to have such policies.

“Let’s be clear, we are talking about illegal immigrants who have committed dangerous felony crimes. We welcome those that are willing to enter through legal channels, do not threaten public safety and contribute to our communities,” Newhouse said. “… The state of Washington must follow the law and keep our communities safe.”

Similarly, Republican Sen. Phil Fortunato said that asking Ferguson to resist deportation policies jeopardizes the safety in Washington, including “our children who are victims of this stuff.”

In December, Fortunato reintroduced a bill that seeks to repeal Washington’s sanctuary status and remove protections for undocumented immigrants convicted of violent crimes.

“I want to emphasize that these people think that they are protecting what we will call the illegal community. … Who do you think the primary victims of these illegal criminals are?” Fortunato said.

Ferguson has yet to respond to the coalition’s letter. His media team stated he is addressing the issue.

“Bob Ferguson really made it a point during his campaign to differentiate himself about how he was going to be different from Donald Trump,” said Edgar Franks, political director of Familias Unidas por la Justicia. “Now he is governor, so now it’s time to prove it.”