Washington officials introduce bill to give immigrant workers notice of I-9 audits, add state enforcement

Attorney General Nick Brown and allied lawmakers on Friday announced the Immigrant Workers Protection Act, a proposal that would require employers and workers to receive the same advance notice when federal officials seek employment-eligibility records and would give the state attorney general authority to enforce related state laws.

Brown said the change is intended to counter what he described as escalating federal enforcement that sweeps up nonviolent immigrant workers and creates fear in communities. "Almost half of those arrested by ICE in Washington state this year had no criminal record," Brown said, framing the bill as a way to protect workers, employers and public safety.

Representative Lillian Ortiz Self, who spoke at the White Center event, said immigrant workers are foundational to the state’s economy and cited a figure she attributed to 2022 tax contributions: "Undocumented immigrants paid $96,700,000,000 in federal, state and local taxes in 2022." Ortiz Self said the bill would ensure "clear timely notice of I-9 audits," bar employers from voluntarily handing over workers' records without proper legal authority and create a private right of action alongside AG enforcement.

Senator Rebecca Saldana, representing the 37th Legislative District, said the bill will bring clarity to both employers and employees and help small businesses understand their obligations during audits. "So all we're doing here is saying that if there is an I-9 audit not just the employers have notice, but that the workers deserve to have notice too," Saldana said.

Small-business owners who backed the bill described practical concerns they say the measure would address. Anna Castro, who identified herself as the owner of a Salvadoran bakery in White Center, said customers and employees are staying away because people are "scared to go out because they are afraid to be snatched from the ICE and law enforcement." A White Center business leader said standardized guidance would give business owners clear steps to protect employee privacy during audits.

Labor and worker-advocacy groups also endorsed the proposal. Danielle Alvarado, executive director of Working Washington, said the organization plans to use its legal team to support enforcement and urged lawmakers to pass the bill this year. Stefan Moritz, who described himself as a secretary-treasurer of a local Unite Here chapter, said collective-bargaining agreements already include notice provisions and that the bill would extend similar protections to nonunion workers. "If an employer has advanced knowledge that federal immigration will be doing an I-9 audit, workers should have that notice too so they can seek their own legal advice," Moritz said.

Reporters asked officials about the frequency of I-9 audits and fiscal impacts. Brown said his office has observed a significant uptick in audits in parts of the state but did not provide detailed data during the briefing, and he said the attorney general's office expects to handle enforcement through existing divisions without requesting additional legislative funding.

Next steps: sponsors urged lawmakers to move the bill through the legislature this year; Brown closed the event by calling for its passage.