Letter from the Director Fifteen years! It’s hard to believe. As I write these words, planning is underway for the celebration of our Center for Human Rights’ fifteen-year anniversary, and I find myself reflecting on all the changes this decade and a half has brought. In some ways, our Center still feels “new”—we’re still small,

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

Letter from the Director Lately I’ve been contemplating history as cyclical rather than linear. In part this is because I’ve found myself frustrated by the fits and starts of teaching during Covid-19. (We’re on Zoom! Now we’re in person! Now back on Zoom!) We are all eager to leave the pandemic behind, yet it lingers, transforms, resurfaces.

Last week, on September 20, 2022, we filed a lawsuit against DHS and ICE for failure to lawfully respond to FOIA requests. ICE’s stonewalling of our FOIA requests leaves us with no other option but to bring suit against the agency. We bring FOIA litigation because we know that access to information is a human

This report is part of a series of research reports by the University of Washington Center for Human Rights examining Immigration and Customs Enforcement Air Operations nationwide.  Download additional resources and one pagers: Haiti: Sports Travel & U.S. Deportation of Haitian Asylum-Seekers Syracuse University & Haitian Deportations Texas Universities & Haitian Deportations Introduction Every week,

UWCHR reports on concerns related to health and safety in immigration detention at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA, including COVID-19 risks; and reviews transparency and oversight mechanisms including the potential for increased state and local regulation.

UWCHR reviews documentary evidence substantiating longstanding allegations of medical neglect at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA.

Across Washington state, ICE and Border Patrol are increasingly carrying out immigration enforcement arrests at or near courthouses, raising serious concerns about access to justice for all Washingtonians.

A newly-released Department of Homeland Security document reveals allegations of serious abuses on ICE deportation flights, including accounts of mistreatment, excessive force, due process violations, and deaths.

Each year, “ICE Air” removes tens of thousands of people from the US via a network of private charter flights. The UW Center for Human Rights is making public an ICE database regarding these flights and documenting the corporations and municipalities participating in ICE’s deportation flights.