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Ferguson signs executive order creating Family Separation Rapid Response Team
Summary
At a Seattle event Feb. 14, Gov. Bob Ferguson signed an order directing the Department of Children, Youth and Families to stand up a Family Separation Rapid Response Team to plan for care, education continuity and other supports if federal immigration enforcement separates families.
Governor Bob Ferguson signed an executive order at El Centro de la Raza on Feb. 14 directing the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) to create a Family Separation Rapid Response Team to coordinate state responses if federal immigration enforcement separates parents from children.
The order, announced and signed at the event, directs DCYF to convene the team with representatives from DCYF, the Washington State Patrol, the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, the Washington Attorney General’s Office and the governor’s office. Ferguson said the team will consult regional and local experts on immigration and child welfare and hold its first meeting no later than Feb. 14 (he said he expected it to meet sooner).
"The goal of this team is to address the harms caused by [federal immigration enforcement policies]," Ferguson said, adding the state must plan to ensure children who are separated from caregivers have care and uninterrupted access to education. "We'll be in regular contact as we move forward," he said.
Tana Sen, director of the Department of Children, Youth and Families, said DCYF’s mission is to keep children safe and "reduce unnecessary separation from family, and ultimately reduce any trauma." "If that happens, your child will be safe, will be cared for, and will be loved here in Washington state," Sen said.
Organizers and elected officials described the order as one element of a broader state strategy that includes legal challenges and legislative proposals to blunt federal actions affecting immigrants. Event leaders also provided a deportation hotline and a trained rapid-response network for community reporting and documentation (organizers gave a hotline number during remarks; see clarifying details).
What happens next: the executive order directs agencies to convene and develop policies and procedures to support children and families affected by enforcement actions. Officials at the event pledged ongoing interagency coordination and public outreach; a precise public timeline for deliverables beyond the first meeting date was not specified during the remarks.
Provenance: The governor announced and described the executive order at the event (first mentioned and signed during his remarks; see organizers' introduction and his remarks).
