Dear Friend,
Responding to the constant barrage of attacks on immigrant rights over the past month has been exhausting for the NWIRP team and our partners. Lowlights from the federal administration include: continued attempts to halt funding for localities and organizations across the United States committed to protecting undocumented community members; repurposing the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison as a makeshift immigration detention center, where we know some in our community have already been transferred to; the passage of the Laken Riley Act, which erodes the right to fundamental due process by stripping away the right to individual custody hearings for persons arrested for minor theft offenses–even if they are not convicted; shutting the southern border entirely to asylum seekers; increased instances of community members being targeted by immigration enforcement agents; and the detention and deportation of community members.
Despite the attacks, our community continues to bring us hope. A large number of volunteers have contacted NWIRP to help with taking on cases for legal representation and translation services, and to stand up in solidarity with immigrant communities in Washington state. Earlier this month, we were surprised by a massive fundraiser in Seattle for Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and other immigration services providers that was led by over 175 local restaurants, bars, and other businesses that raised over $100,000. Our team has continued to receive messages, emails, and letters of support from people all over Washington State who believe that immigrant rights are human rights and that our work is needed to defend immigrant communities. We’ve been blown away by the interest in our free training opportunities for community members and allies with over 2,000 attendees to this month’s events alone.
This is a dark and difficult time. Many of our community members, recognizing the intersection of immigration status and various identities like gender and race, are at great risk. But together, we are on the right side of history. Each and every day, our offices are filled with clients who are receiving high-quality legal representation thanks to your continued support. We are grateful for the seen and unseen ways that you are helping to preserve empathy, solidarity, and justice.
The following list includes both upcoming presentations and webinars along with recordings to recently completed presentations which are available to view for free. The intended audience for each of these presentations is outlined under each listing.
North Central Washington Know Your Rights Presentations in Spanish - Various Dates in February and March
Audience: Immigrants, their loved ones, and the community.
Our staff will be hosting Know Your Rights presentations in Spanish for community members at the following public libraries. Please visit each library's website for more information.
Previous Trainings
We have several previous training videos available on our Vimeo page, including Know Your Rights information, the latest immigration-related updates, and immigration 101 for service providers, with training videos from this week scheduled to be added shortly.
Click here to access these recorded trainings
The following is a list of resources, toolkits, and other important information. These resources include important information on your rights, tools for reporting ICE activity, recent advisories pertaining to changes in federal immigration policy and practices, and ways you can get involved in the immigrant rights movement. Access more resources at this link.
LCYC Immigrant Safety Plan
The Immigrant Safety Plan document is a collective community resource to help parents plan for the care of their child(ren) (with or without status) in the event that a parent is unable to care for their child, particularly if the parent is detained or deported. This plan was created by our partners at Legal Counsel for Youth and Children (LCYC).
Bystander and Observer Guidelines from WAISN
Everyone has certain constitutional rights and protections regardless of their immigration status. You have the legal right to film the police and/or immigration officers if they are in a public place and if the filming does not impede the performance of their duties. These guidelines were developed by our partners at the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN).
About the Northwest Detention Center (Northwest ICE Processing Center) in Tacoma
If you or someone you care for has questions about the immigration detention center in Tacoma, we recently updated our informational page with basic information about the center itself, what to do if you or someone you know has been detained, and how to visit or support someone currently held at the facility.
Unaccompanied Children Program Is Safe from Stop Work Order
Last week, the government unexpectedly issued a stop work order to NWIRP and nearly 100 service providers across the country on legal services for unaccompanied children, leaving over 26,000 children nationwide without access to their legal counsel. But on Friday, the Federal government rescinded the cruel order, meaning that children will continue to have their day in court accompanied by their attorneys.
Children who arrive unaccompanied by parents or legal guardians often have survived targeted violence, abuse, abandonment, persecution, or trafficking. It is virtually impossible for a child to understand their legal options or successfully navigate complex legal proceedings alone, without a specialized children’s rights attorney.
NWIRP’s Unaccompanied Children Program is essential to making sure that vulnerable children are not alone and have the legal representation and support they need to be empowered and informed. We are grateful to the many of you who were outraged by this news and contacted your elected leaders, demanding that this stop work order be canceled.
Judge Grants Injunction in Washington State Suit Against Unconstitutional Birthright Citizenship Order
On February 6th, a federal judge granted Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and Washington state’s request for a preliminary injunction against the president’s unconstitutional birthright citizenship executive order, preventing the federal government from denying birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants.
Immigrant families nationwide are protected from any threat of their children losing citizenship while this lawsuit continues.
The executive order is a fundamental attack on the integrity of our democracy. The President cannot simply rewrite the Constitution, which is exactly what he has tried to do. This order ensures that the law—not changing political tides or animus against certain groups—governs who is a citizen, and that is exactly what the people who drafted the Fourteenth Amendment intended.
Stop Work Order Impacting Our Legal Orientation Program Successfully Rescinded
Similar to the stop work order in our work serving children and youth facing deportation, late last month, NWIRP and other nonprofit organizations across the country received a stop work order from the Department of Justice for contracted work to provide critical legal orientation programs for immigrants, including people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and held at the Tacoma immigration detention center. After receiving the order, NWIRP and our partners took immediate action, filing a federal lawsuit against the government for shutting down this important work.
Shortly after the filing of our suit, the Department of Justice rescinded their order, allowing us to resume our Legal Orientation Program (LOP) at the Tacoma detention center. Our LOP staff meets with detained community members one-on-one to access their immigration cases and identify forms of relief; conducts workshops to help them fill out applications for relief and prepare for court, identifies wrongfully detained US citizens; advocates for the most vulnerable of those in detention; and provides Know Your Rights presentations to detained community members to explain the legal process and potential forms of immigration protections. We are very glad that the Department of Justice’s attempt to stop this work was unsuccessful, and we are grateful to the Gibson Dunn law firm for representing this case in court.
Join us on May 16th for the Annual NWIRP Gala
This is a crucial time for the immigrant rights movement as we fight against an onslaught of attacks from the new administration. However, our community is strong, and we are committed to doing everything we can to continue to serve our client communities, provide representation and community education, and challenge unjust and racist policies to protect and defend the rights of immigrant communities.
In times like these, your support is a source of hope for our NWIRP team and clients. We invite you to gather with us at our most critical fundraiser of the year: our annual gala at The Westin Seattle on Friday, May 16. Registration is now open at nwirp.org/gala (early bird ticket pricing is available until April 4).
Purchase Early Bird Gala Tickets
The evening will be a meaningful opportunity to hear inspirational stories and connect with friends over food and drinks as we reaffirm our commitment to doing everything in our power to fight for equity and justice for all. We hope you can make it!
Thank you so much for your shared commitment to justice for all people in Washington State. Together, we will make it through this difficult time and emerge stronger than ever for our communities.
With gratitude,
Malou Chávez
Executive Director