At the University of Washington Center for Human Rights, our research team is examining the human rights implications of contemporary immigration enforcement in Washington state.
At a time of heightened concern about immigrant rights, it is more important than ever to understand the policies our government has implemented at the local, state, and federal level to handle immigration, and to examine the effects of these policies on the lives and liberties of all Washingtonians.
Read our most recent reports regarding this initiative:
January 30, 2019
Key findings Inmate booking and release data from Pierce County jails shows that during the period from October 2016 through July 2018, over 188 inmates were the subject of detainer requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Latinx inmates are heavily overrepresented in the population subjected to ICE detainers. Statistical analysis shows that, when controlling
January 30, 2019
SEATTLE — In Pierce County jails, inmates targeted by Immigration & Customs Enforcement spend more than three times longer in jail than other inmates with similar charges, according to research by the University of Washington Center for Human Rights, a disparity which raises significant human rights and policy concerns. The Center’s new report, “Unequal Justice:
January 25, 2019
Community Advocates and UW Researchers Present Report and Reflections on “Unequal Justice” for Immigrants in Pierce County in January 30 Events Community advocates and researchers from the UW’s Tacoma and Seattle campuses will host a morning press conference and evening panel discussion on issues of “Unequal Justice” for immigrant and undocumented communities in Pierce County
December 18, 2018
UW Ph.D. student Emily Willard represented the University of Washington Center for Human Rights during an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights hearing regarding the “Situation of Human Rights Defenders of Migrants in the United States.”
December 5, 2018
Report on barriers to access to information regarding immigration enforcement, presented to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, D.C. on December 5, 2018 during the Commission’s session on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders of Migrants in the United States.
November 27, 2018
UWCHR student researchers took a deep dive into ICE arrest data released by Syracuse University’s TRAC. The data shows that almost half of ICE arrests in Washington state involve collaboration with local jails, and reveals a high rate of at-large arrests in King County.
November 15, 2018
Court records documenting immigration-related offenses in Washington State reveal numerous cases of Washington residents being federally prosecuted and potentially deported as a result of consequences cascading from what was an initially minor offense.
November 8, 2018
Last year, in response to requests for partnership from local immigrant rights organizations, our research team began examining the human rights implications of contemporary immigration enforcement in Washington state. This work continues to grow, in both depth and urgency: at a time of heightened concern about immigration, it is more important than ever to understand
September 21, 2018
On September 21, 2018, the University of Washington Center for Human Rights filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its two sub-agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The lawsuit aims to hold ICE and CBP accountable for failing to respond lawfully to twelve requests for public information filed by Center researchers since 2017.
August 10, 2018
Documents released to the UW Center for Human Rights by Customs and Border Protection suggest that asylum seekers are being arbitrarily denied the right to make credible fear claims on the northern U.S. border, predating Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ “zero tolerance” policies.