Washington to convene rapid response team to aid families of undocumented residents

Gov. Bob Ferguson will convene a family separation rapid response team to recommend, protect and aid families of undocumented residents as the federal government continues to ramp up efforts to fulfill President Donald Trump’s calls for mass deportations.
The team, which will operate within the Department of Children, Youth and Families, will include representatives from the Washington State Patrol, the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, the attorney general’s office and the governor’s office.
“The members will be consulting with regional and local experts on immigration and child welfare to develop policies that support children who experience family separation through the deportation or detention of their parents or their caregivers,” Ferguson said.
According to an executive order signed by Ferguson, the rapid response team will review policies and identify changes that could assist when a family is separated, develop policies to help the children of deported or detained parents and meet with school officials to develop policies to mitigate disruption to education if a parent is detained or deported.
“The goal of this team is to address the harms caused by President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies,” Ferguson said. “The harms are obvious. And the word ‘harms’ is not even the right word, right? It goes beyond that.”
Surrounded by state, federal and local officials, and immigrant rights advocates, Ferguson said Washington lawmakers “are very, very committed to defending your rights.”
Ferguson, who rose to prominence nationally as Washington’s then-attorney general after he successfully blocked a travel ban from predominantly Muslim countries within weeks of Trump taking office in 2017, said he was “equally proud” that Washington was again the first state to successfully win against the federal administration.
“He was clear about his intentions, so I want to be clear about the impacts if it were to happen,” Ferguson said of Trump’s calls to deport the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country. “It means ripping families apart, it means kids losing their parents, it means business losing their workers, it means communities being significantly altered. We need to be prepared for this to come to pass.”
“We’ve been first in the past, we’re first again. We will stand up for your rights, we’ll protect your freedoms,” Ferguson continued. “That’s central to who we are, and we’ll continue doing that.”
Attorney General Nick Brown, who successfully obtained a temporary restraining order last week to block an attempt to end birthright citizenship, said Trump acted “like a king” in his executive order.
“We could not let that stand,” Brown said. “And Washington state was proud to remind the nation that we are not afraid to defend our values and our people, and uphold the constitution. We were able to stop Trump’s unconstitutional birthright citizenship order for now and we will continue to protect and defend the rights of everyone in Washington over these next four years.
According to Brown, the attorney general’s office continues to review Trump’s actions and is working “collaboratively” with attorneys general throughout the country on potential action.
Ferguson noted that presidents “have a lot of authority” and “they can do things that are lawful that we strongly oppose and that goes against our values.”
“And we also need to prepare for those events as well,” Ferguson said. “To minimize the impacts to Washingtonians when a president does something that may be lawful, but goes against our values.”
The rapid response team will meet for the first time by Feb. 14, and will meet “as frequently as necessary.”
Jennyfer Mesa, executive director of Latinos En Spokane, praised the creation of the rapid response team and said the organization is “very happy to see the community-based organizations who are providing direct deportation defense and supporting the immigrant community during this time to be together and working with Bob Ferguson as a new governor.”
“During the first Trump administration, we passed some of the most progressive laws to protect immigrants and workers in our state,” Mesa said. “So I trust that we’re going to be able to do that again and remain resilient.”
Mesa would like to see continued enforcement of the Keep Washington Working act, which was adopted by the Legislature in 2019 and limits local law enforcement’s participation in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
“We’re seeing sweeps across Washington state, we’re seeing that our community is in great fear right now, especially now with the orders that ICE and Border Patrol agents can be in sensitive locations,” Mesa said.
Attendance at a recent weekly monthly market was down, Mesa said, and alerts of potential action by the Border Patrol or the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have prevented some from going to the grocery store.
Mesa said it’s crucial for people to understand their rights, which includes not allowing immigration officials to access an area without a signed warrant.
While Latinos En Spokane holds regular “know your rights” and “immigration 101” trainings, Mesa said the organization also offers family and estate planning, to aid families if a parent or caregiver is detained or deported.
“It is like, you’re here one day and then you’re gone,” Mesa said. “These are conversations that we have to have with our kids and have them prepared.”