Since our inception, UWCHR has conducted research on topics related to immigrant rights in Washington state, as specified by the state law under which our center was founded. These ongoing efforts are now grouped under our Immigrant Rights Observatory project. Over the years, our reports have documented both serious concern for the rights of migrants

In spring 2025, with additional funding support from the UW EarthLab, the Indigenous Rights and Environmental Sustainability project focused on nurturing future generations of climate leaders by engaging Chief Leschi Schools (CLS) and UW students in the creation of two traditional plant food forests: one on the campus of CLS and one at the Nisqually

This year, the Strategies for Massage Parlor Workers’ Rights project, in collaboration with the Massage Parlor Outreach Project (MPOP), continued to examine ways to build worker power and leadership among migrant Asian massage parlor workers, sex workers, and care workers in the greater Seattle area.  In 2024–25, we deepened our ongoing work analyzing and studying

Former student researcher Sarah Kwan, graduating class of 2017, sits down with UWCHR’s Andrea Marcos to reflect on her time at the center and how she carries that work forward. This interview is featured in the 2024-2025 Annual Report.   AM: Sarah, thanks so much for talking with us. You worked as a student researcher

Letter from the Director Most readers of this annual report already know it’s been a rough year for both higher education and human rights. Our Center for Human Rights sits at the nexus of these two fields, so we’ve been in the thick of it. While I don’t know what our work will look like

NPR | Martin Kaste: “Some sanctuary states discover feds mining local license plate data” cites UWCHR’s research on Flock surveillance systems exposing Washington state data to immigration enforcement agencies. Read the full article →

Seattle Times | Editorial Board: “ICE is checking law enforcement databases. WA has a law against that” cites UWCHR’s research on Flock surveillance systems exposing Washington state data to immigration enforcement agencies. Read the full article →

Everett Herald | The Herald Editorial Board: “Law enforcement tool needs review, better controls” cites UWCHR’s research on Flock surveillance systems exposing Washington state data to immigration enforcement agencies. Read the full article →

Yakima Herald | Editorial Board: “Police should protect the public, not the feds” cites UWCHR’s research on Flock surveillance systems exposing Washington state data to immigration enforcement agencies. Read the full article →

This report is part of a series regarding Human Rights Conditions at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, based on ongoing research efforts and released to highlight initial findings in the urgent context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contents: • Introduction • Background, Methodology, and Human Rights Standards • Sanitation of Food and Laundry •