In August 2024, we published “Paths to Compliance: The Effort to Protect Immigrant Rights in Washington State,” an update from our Immigrant Rights Observatory project monitoring implementation of pro-immigrant legislation in Washington State, finding both signs of progress and ongoing concerns. With provisions restricting many forms of collaboration between local and state agencies and federal

  This year we embarked on a new collaboration between immigrant rights group La Resistencia, UWCHR, and Hinton Publishing to showcase the stories of people in deportation proceedings in Washington State. A team of 17 students worked to gather the stories of people facing deportation through Boeing Field (and in some cases, folks already deported).

This report is part of the University of Washington Center for Human Rights’ Immigrant Rights Observatory project, using public records research and community partnerships to monitor implementation of and compliance with state laws protecting immigrant rights. For more on the project and other publications, visit the project page here. Introduction As the United States enters

In 2019, the Washington state legislature passed a landmark “sanctuary” law aimed at safeguarding immigrant rights, the Keep Washington Working Act (KWW).[1] In doing so, it prohibits many once-routine practices that, in the past, funneled many Washington state residents into contact with federal immigration enforcement. While many migrant justice organizations worked hard to secure the

The below text is featured in the UWCHR 2022-2023 Annual Report. Written by Phil Neff Over the past five years, the Washington state legislature has passed a landmark series of laws aimed at safeguarding immigrant rights, including the Courts Open to All Act (2019), Keep Washington Working (2020), HB 1090 (2021), and HB 1470 (2023). The

Introduction In recent years, local and state governments in Washington have taken important legislative and executive action to protect vulnerable residents from rights abuses. Many of these actions, such as the so-called “sanctuary” laws of Keep Washington Working (2019) and Courts Open to All (2020) Acts, seek to protect the rights of migrants by limiting

This spring quarter, the Benjamin Linder Fellowship has allowed me the opportunity to continue the research into the enforcement of the Keep Washington Working (KWW) and Courts Open To All (COTA) acts which UWCHR’s Immigrant Rights Observatory team began conducting in 2019. Their August 2021 report, Protecting Immigrant Rights: Is Washington’s Law Working?, analyzed the

The first report of the UW Center for Human Rights “Immigrant Rights Observatory” monitors the implementation of and compliance with Washington state laws protecting immigrant rights.

Since receiving the Benjamin Linder Justice Fellowship I have been ecstatic to continue my work with the UW Center for Human Rights and have the opportunity to be a part of this community. My work during this fellowship has centered around a newly instated project titled the “Observatorio,” which functions under the umbrella of the

The University of Washington Center for Human Rights (UWCHR) has launched a new research project to monitor compliance with state laws seeking to protect immigrant rights. The UWCHR’s “Immigrant Rights Observatory” will use public records research and community partnerships to investigate how local and state government agencies have implemented provisions of the Keep Washington Working