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

Starting in spring of 2022 and through the summer, I worked on the Migrant Redress Initiative: Freedom and Dignity project with Alejandra Gonza, Executive Director of Global Rights Advocacy (GRA), in collaboration with La Resistencia. The Redress Initiative is a project that empowers immigrants to reach international justice by bridging the voices of the most

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,

This report is part of a series regarding Human Rights Conditions at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, based on ongoing research efforts and released to highlight initial findings in the urgent context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contents: • Introduction • Background, Methodology, and Human Rights Standards • Sanitation of Food and Laundry •

With the support of the Abe Osheroff and Gunnel Clark Endowed Fund, during the last summer, María Fernanda Chacón Santana and Milta Johanna Mora Hernández, graduate students of the Sustainable International Development, LL.M. at the UW School of Law, along with Alejandra Gonza, Executive Director of Global Rights Advocacy, worked on the project: Migrants Rights

My work with the UW Center for Human Rights (UWCHR) is part of the project “Shut it down!: A quantitative study of immigrant detention/enforcement dynamics”, which aims to understand the relationship between immigrant detention capacity, operationalized both as available space within detention facilities and detention facility closures, and local immigration enforcement practices, which includes encounters,

I started my fellowship with Cristosal on the 6th of September of 2021 and worked with the organization until the end of November of 2021. Cristosal is a human rights organization based in the northern region of Central America, a region that is made up of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Cristosal has offices in

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.

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.