Immigrant Rights Observatory
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 the University of Washington Center for Human Rights, our research team is examining the human rights implications of contemporary immigration enforcement in Washington state.
Immigrant Rights in Washington State
At a time of heightened concern about immigration, 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 research reports here.
Find out more about our major research initiatives below:
Monitoring State Immigration Laws
In partnership with a coalition of advocacy and grassroots organizations, our team is working to monitor compliance with Washington state laws that protect immigrant rights, including the 2019 Keep Washington Working Act and the 2020 Courts Open To All Act. Using public records requests and community outreach, we seek to understand how the detention and deportation pipeline operates in Washington state and how local and state policy can best protect the human rights and civil liberties of all residents.
Immigration Detention in the Pacific Northwest
Alongside organizations led by people impacted by immigration detention, we work to document human rights conditions and shed light on little-known forms of detention. Our research includes a series of reports on human rights conditions at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA; the detention of immigrant youth at juvenile jails in the Pacific Northwest, including at Cowlitz Youth Services Center in Longview, WA, and NORCOR in The Dalles, OR; as well as Washington’s role in grave human rights concerns such as enforced disappearances and refoulement.
ICE Air Deportation Flights
ICE Air is the for-profit network of charter airlines used by ICE to conduct deportation flights and transfers of detained people. Our research has documented its operations both globally and within Washington state.
Strategic Freedom of Information Litigation
We believe that access to information is a human right, and we work to defend that right through strategic litigation. Between our 2018 Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the DHS, ICE, and CBP and our 2024 suit against ICE and DHS—our center has brought seven FOIA lawsuits for the pursuit of information vital to advancing human rights.
Faculty Leads
Angelina Snodgrass Godoy
Professor, International Studies and Law, Societies & Justice
