Executive summary Today, immigrant Washingtonians are increasingly afraid to drive, as our streets, highways, and public thoroughfares have become frequent sites for immigration enforcement. These incidents, in which drivers are typically apprehended by masked, unidentified agents driving unmarked vehicles, raise multiple human rights concerns: many arrests appear to have been warrantless,[1] some have been violent,[2]

Range Media, The POD Podcast: “Diving Back Into Flock” features UWCHR’s Phil Neff speaking to research on Flock surveillance systems exposing Washington state data to immigration enforcement agencies. Listen to the podcast episode →

404 Media | Jason Koebler: “Judge Rules Flock Surveillance Images Are Public Records That Can Be Requested By Anyone” cites UWCHR’s research on Flock surveillance systems exposing Washington state data to immigration enforcement agencies. Read the full article →

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 →

Summary Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) networks have become increasingly common in Washington state. Records obtained by UWCHR researchers via public records requests reveal that at least eight Washington state law enforcement agencies enabled direct, 1:1 sharing of their networks with U.S. Border Patrol at some point during 2025; effectively opening the “front

KUOW | Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez: “Under Trump’s ICE, people without criminal history increasingly targeted in WA” cites UWCHR’s research and analysis of immigration enforcement trends. Read the full article →

Columbia Spectator | Jillian Prunty: “Charter airline used by women’s basketball linked to ICE deportation flights” cites UWCHR’s monitoring of ICE Air deportation flights. Read the full article →

Funds from the Lisa Sable Brown award have supported research for my dissertation, “Nascent Moves: Loss, Desire, and In/Visible LGBTQ Resistances in Bangladesh,” which argues that to understand queerness in postcolonial global south modernities, we need to employ the lens of kotipona. Kotipona is a way of life and refers to being flamboyant and having

With funds from the Peter Mack and Jamie Mayerfeld award I have continued to work on the Indigenous Youth Prevention Survey, work that I feel a profound sense of purpose and excitement about. Collaborating with two dedicated Indigenous youth homelessness workers in Washington State, who work on state-level and national system change initiatives, has been an

I think for me, the work that the UW Center for Human Rights engages in has always been deeply personal. I come to the work not only as an academic researcher, but as someone who has long been engaged in community organizing, and who additionally sees himself reflected in the struggles that the center research