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Immigrant‑rights and labor advocates urge Seattle to expand legal defense, coordination and language access
Summary
Immigrant and labor organizations told a City Council select committee that federal enforcement increases and policy changes are already producing fear, detentions and service interruptions. They asked the city to invest in legal defense, rapid response, language access and coordinated county/state partnerships to protect residents and workers.
Advocates and city officials told the Seattle City Council select committee on March 6 that federal immigration enforcement and a set of new policies are producing fear, reported detentions, and interruptions to services that protect immigrants and workers.
Hamdi Mohammed, director of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA), said the mayor’s office has issued directives and expanded training and rapid‑response planning for city departments and contractors. “We are in unusual and challenging times,” Mohammed said, and described department training, translation tools and convenings with funders to avoid duplication as immediate priorities.
Anessa Reyes of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WISEN) reported increased calls to a deportation‑defense hotline since Jan. 20 and detailed community reports of enforcement activity: unmarked vehicles stopping people, officers appearing at workplaces and courthouses, and detentions that sometimes included rapid transfers out of state. WISEN said volunteers and legal partners are documenting incidents and coordinating with the state attorney general’s office.
Jenny Maschick, a directing attorney with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), highlighted several legal changes and operational actions to watch: expanded criminalization and mandatory detention for certain arrests; growth in detention capacity at the regional facility near Tacoma; a stop‑work order temporarily issued against legal orientation programs that serve detained people; and the administration’s new registration requirement for some noncitizens (the policy is not yet fully implemented, NWIRP said). Maschick cautioned individuals against acting until regulations are published and advised seeking individualized legal counsel.
Panelists also described the likely knock‑on effects for workers and the local economy. Rigo Valdez of the MLK Labor Council said unions are already supporting affected members, including federal workers facing layoffs; Danielle Alvarado of Fair Work Center and Steve Marchese of the Office of Labor Standards described worker fear that makes employees hesitant to file complaints or sign declarations in ongoing cases.
Speakers urged the council to back specific steps: expand city support for the legal defense network and the rapid response infrastructure, maintain and extend robust language access across departments, coordinate with King County and the state to pool resources, and protect supplier‑diversity and employer DEI efforts that local businesses and workers rely on. Advocates also requested that the city be prepared for potential federal legal actions or subpoenas and to be explicit in public communications that local labor and city protections apply regardless of immigration status.
Committee members asked panelists for concrete funding numbers and implementation steps. NWIRP said its Violence Against Women Act unit carries substantial caseloads (advocates with roughly 150 cases each) and that the organization is turning away dozens of potential clients each week because of capacity limits.
Panelists said they will continue to coordinate with the mayor’s office, county partners and state agencies, and requested additional city funding and planning support to limit service interruptions for immigrants and workers.
