The past few weeks have been filled with heartbreak, despair, and fear for our communities. Earlier this month, multiple community members were killed as a result of ICE’s cruel and violent tactics—their blatant disregard for life and dehumanizing of immigrants means that loved ones are gone, and that their families and friends are in mourning. This is what happens when Congress approves billions and billions of dollars without any meaningful accountability and without the necessary training. To the contrary, violent overreactions appear to be encouraged.
This administration continues to aggressively dismantle key protections, restrict legal pathways, and terminate immigration protections. Earlier this week, a new rule went into effect, which authorizes the Asylum Office to close pending affirmative asylum applicants without first adjudicating the application, and instead refer the case to immigration court, placing the applicant in removal proceedings. This essentially eliminates the right of persons who are not in removal proceedings to a nonadversarial process in which they can apply for asylum. In addition, immigration courts are creating dramatic upheaval by advancing hearing dates.
But we are not standing by and simply wringing our hands at all of this horrible news. NWIRP is actively fighting back. As noted below, just this morning the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court ruling on behalf of our class, making clear that the immigration court cannot deny bond hearings to community members who are in removal proceedings because they entered without inspection. We are also fighting back, case by case. Over the last several months we have successfully filed habeas petitions on behalf of hundreds of community members who were unlawfully detained. And we continue to fight on behalf of our clients in immigration court and before USCIS, a case at a time, defending their rights to apply for lawful status to remain in this country with their family and loved ones.
Important Ninth Circuit Victory
This morning, the Ninth Circuit published its decision in Rodriguez Vazquez v. Bostock, affirming the district court holding that the immigration court violated the law by denying class members bond hearings. The immigration court adopted a policy–one that was later adopted by immigration courts across the country–denying bond hearings for any person who had entered without inspection, treating them as if they were arriving at the border and subject to mandatory detention.
Despite the district court granting summary judgment, and despite the fact that the court of appeals did not issue a stay while the case was on appeal, the immigration court and local U.S. Attorney’s office refused to honor the district court judgment we won. This has led to hundreds and hundreds of people being unlawfully detained over the last year. As a result, we have filed enforcement habeas petitions on behalf of hundreds of individuals. Many others have paid private attorneys to file habeas petitions vindicate their rights to a bond hearing.
Now, with the Court of Appeals’ opinion issued this morning, everyone in this situation in the Ninth Circuit–not just those locked up in Tacoma–will be able to immediately access bond hearings without needing to first file a habeas petition. This is critical, as most people locked up in detention do not have an attorney to file a habeas petition.
This is not the end of the story, the government has already asked the supreme court to review this issue in a case out of the Sixth Circuit, and we are working with the ACLU to have the supreme court review a separate case out of the Fifth Circuit, so inevitably, it will come down to what the U.S. Supreme Court says next summer, but for now, this is a major victory that provides access to bond hearings to thousands of people locked up in the Ninth Circuit.
Resources for Community Members with Mega Master Hearings
Over the past several weeks, the Seattle immigration court has held large group hearings called Mega Master Hearings. This is yet another tactic by the current administration to disregard due process for our communities. In addition to providing representation to our clients facing these hearings, NWIRP has put together some resources for community members in English and Spanish. These hearings have also impacted children and youth in our area. Over a four day period in July, a large number of juvenile community members were called to the Seattle immigration court as part of mega master hearings, covered in this article by the Seattle Times. NWIRP attorneys Adam and Shir, with the help of our communications team, have put together this short video explaining this situation and providing important information about how you can protect children and youth facing these hearings.
NWIRP advocates for an immigration court system that respects fundamental fairness and ensures that individuals have meaningful access to legal protections. Every person facing deportation proceedings deserves due process and a fair opportunity to be heard.
Federal Government Risks Leaving Children Without Lawyers on July 31
Children should not be alone in courtrooms. Yet thousands of them are now at risk of losing access to legal representation tomorrow, July 31, because the Trump administration is refusing to pay their attorneys the $65 million they owe. Legal service providers, including NWIRP, have not received full payment since November 2025. NWIRP is very grateful to have generous donors who help support this work; we have been able to sustain our work with children and youth because of you. Beyond the money owed, if funding for these critical services is not restored, an immediate funding gap will be created, destabilizing legal services for children and youth across the country. Over 20,000 children could be left to navigate one of the world’s most complex legal systems alone — against trained government attorneys, in a language they may not speak.
Our partners at the Acacia Center for Justice have put together this letter writing campaign for concerned community members who are interested in letting their congressional representatives know that legal services for unaccompanied children must be protected.
Temporary Protected Status Ended for Hundreds of Thousands
This week, the federal government ended Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of community members from Afghanistan, Burma, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. TPS is also likely to be cancelled for community members from Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. This action is devastating for not only these community members and their loved ones, but for the country they have called home for years—inevitably impacting employers and local economies. The New York Times has done extensive reporting on the economic impact of this decision, and the government has already begun making threats that immigration officers may begin carrying out enforcement actions immediately.
NWIRP attorney Zina and directing attorney Anne covered this topic in our most recent free virtual immigration updates webinar last week, which you can view at this link.
Thank you very much for your continued support during this difficult time. We are very grateful that we can continue defending and advancing the rights of our community members despite the inhumane actions of this administration, and look forward to continuing this work long after they have left office.
In solidarity,
Malou Chávez (she/her/ella)
Executive Director
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