As we feared, this year has already been filled with stories and headlines from across the country documenting the death of people detained in immigration custody, with one of them being ruled a homicide by medical examiners; and of heightened violence against our communities, including two U.S. citizens shot to death by masked ICE agents for exercising their constitutional right to observe and document. Each day, hundreds of immigrant community members of all ages (toddlers included) are continuing to face arrests, detention, and forced separation from their loved ones and communities at the hands of federal agents who are increasing their enforcement tactics. Just law week, local public schools in the Seattle area issued shelter-in-place orders out of an abundance of caution, demonstrating the level of fear our communities are living in.
We recently learned of an internal memorandum to immigration agents wherein the Department of Homeland Security’s leadership claims that an administrative warrant is sufficient to enter a person’s home without their consent to arrest noncitizens with final deportation orders. This flies in the face of established law under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution against unreasonable searches and seizures. We have the highest expectation of privacy in our homes and remind ourselves that entry into a private residence or any restricted area requires either a judicial warrant or consent.
For the past year, NWIRP and our partners have been preparing in the event of a significant increase in ICE presence in Washington State. We have been careful about how we talk about this threat because we do not want to cause unnecessary fear during a time when so many of our community members are already overwhelmed. But we have a duty to our community to be prepared. Our staff and volunteers are ready to respond immediately to large-scale enforcement action by ICE and other federal agents to protect the rights of those who are targeted, and our legal team continues to provide legal services for people facing deportation proceedings and those detained in immigration custody. If you are a member of the legal community, you can join our legal response team here.
It is a truly dark time. But our communities are strong. Thank you for your continued support – it is needed now more than ever.
Litigation Updates
Next Tuesday, NWIRP and our partners at National Immigration LItigation Alliance and Human Rights Watch, will present arguments to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in D.V.D. v. DHS, in Boston, Massachusetts, in support of the district court’s prior order granting preliminary injunctive relief to ensure that our clients are not removed to a third country at the whim of our government without first having the opportunity to apply for protection if they fear persecution or torture in that country. This is now before the First Circuit after the Supreme Court stayed the initial preliminary injunction issued by the district court. The decision covers a class of thousands of individuals who are now being threatened with removal to countries where they have had no prior contact, and often include countries in the middle of civil turmoil.
We continue to push forward on two separate class actions, Rodriguez Vazquez v. Bostock and Maldonado Bautista v. Noem, challenging the administration’s new draconian detention policies, denying bond hearings to persons who have lived in this country for years, some for decades. In addition, NWIRP continues to file habeas petitions each week on behalf of persons unlawfully detained in immigration custody in Tacoma. And each week the federal district courts are ruling in favor of our clients and ordering their release.
In the face of the dramatic increase in unlawful detention and the need for expedited habeas procedures, NWIRP successfully petitioned the Western District of Washington to modify its local court rules to ensure that persons who are unlawfully detained do not languish for months waiting for the federal court to issue a decision on a habeas petition. Next month, on February 5, 2026, NWIRP and the Western District of Washington, will provide training to attorneys in Washington and Oregon regarding the new rules governing habeas petitions challenging immigration detention. Attorneys can register for this training at this link.
Keeping Our Students and Schools Safe from ICE
This month, our community outreach team held two virtual training sessions focused on protecting students, families, teachers, and administrators when they encounter immigration agents. We encourage you to watch these training sessions and others, available here.
We encourage parents to have an emergency preparedness plan ready for their family. Last year, we recorded a training alongside our partners from Legal Council for Youth and Children (LCYC) which discusses how to prepare this plan.
Our Latest NWIRP Immigration Updates Webinar
Last evening, we held another free immigration updates webinar for the community. This training will be uploaded in the coming days, alongside our other free webinar recordings at this link.
Join Us for Our Tacoma Solidarity Social
In the spirit of solidarity and shared commitment to justice, we hope you’ll join us in Tacoma for our next Solidary Social on Thursday, February 5. These gatherings are an opportunity to come together in community, enjoy food and drinks, learn about issues facing our community directly from members of our staff, and help raise essential funds to sustain NWIRP’s work defending and advancing immigrant rights.
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Evergreen State Brewing
1901 Dock Street | Tacoma, WA
Reception at 5:00 p.m. | Program at 6:15 p.m.
$75 suggested donation
Save the Date for our Annual Gala on May 15th
We also hope you will save the date for our upcoming gala on Friday, May 15 at the Westin, Seattle. We will have more information as well as tickets for purchase available shortly.
Thank you so much for being a part of the NWIRP community of support. We look forward to continuing to make Washington a safe place for immigrant communities this year.
With gratitude,
Malou Chávez (she/her/ella)
Executive Director
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