March Newsletter

Written By Kendra Berry

March 1, 2025 • 1 Adar 5785

TASTE OF HONEY

This month, we want to celebrate the sweet victory in Pacito vs. Trump of a Seattle judge blocking Trump’s Executive Order halting the country’s refugee resettlement program and freezing funding for agencies that support refugees. We are so grateful to HIAS for being a plaintiff in this lawsuit and for the Jewish community who turned out for the hearing and press conference in support! Read more here and read HIAS’ statement here.

TAKE ACTION

Thanks to those who attended JCIJ’s Advocacy Training: Taking Action for Immigrant Justice 2025! 

Watch JCIJ’s Advocacy Training featuring the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) to learn about Legislative Priorities and how you can take action. 

Make an Action Plan to take action this Legislative Session: tinyurl.com/2025actionplan! Having trouble making a copy? View the plan here.

STATE ACTIONS

Send a letter to your legislators asking them to advocate for the top priorities for immigrant justice: 1) Wage Replacement for Undocumented Workers (unemployment insurance), 2) Health Equity for Immigrants, and 3) Support for Newly Arrived Migrants in Washington State. 

Sign on to this Organizational Letter to support Wage Replacement for Excluded Undocumented Workers (HB 1773/ SB 5626)!

Join JCIJ and Bend the Arc to take action opposing this harmful bill today!

Congress is about to vote on the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act (H.R. 32), a really dangerous bill that would cut federal funds to any city that welcomes immigrants. Trump, Musk, and MAGA Republicans want any excuse to punish their political opponents, and they don’t care who gets hurt. 

If this bill passes, as many as 700 local governments in 28 states (including D.C.) could be impacted by funding cuts. Email your member of Congress now and tell them to vote NO on HR 32.

Sensitive Locations, Sacred Spaces

The sensitive locations memo was rescinded to target houses of worship because the administration knows they are places of welcome.

As part of its pledge to conduct mass deportations, the Trump administration rescinded a longstanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy that substantially restricts ICE agents from conducting immigration arrests in or near “sensitive locations” like hospitals, schools, and houses of worship. It is a policy that has been in place in various forms since the 90s and in its current form since 2011.

In doing so, houses of worship are targets specifically because of their religious beliefs to treat everyone with love, dignity, respect, and compassion- regardless of who they are or where they come from. Sign the RAC petition calling for the recession to be revoked!

We invite you to join the Jewish Coalition's March 2nd volunteer orientation to learn about JCIJ and the many ways to get involved and take action for immigrant justice in this moment. 

This training is open to everyone interested in volunteering! If you have any questions about this training, feel free to contact team@jewishcoalition.org.

Who: All interested volunteers are welcome to attend!

What: JCIJ's virtual Volunteer Orientation

Where: Virtual event - Register for Zoom link

When: Sunday, March 2nd at 1pm

JCIJ Dinner in Community April 27th - Save the Date!

JCIJ is thankful to have NWIRP as an incredible partner and immigrant justice advocate. Join the JCIJ table at NWIRP’s gala to support in this critical moment as NWIRP represents immigrant clients, provides education, and challenges unjust and racist policies. The gala will include live entertainment, delicious food and drinks, and inspiring speakers━including immigrants whose lives have been impacted by NWIRP.

When: Friday, May 16, 2025

Time: 5:30 p.m. ━ Welcome Reception, 6:15 p.m. ━ Dinner & Program Begins

Location: The Westin Seattle

Tickets: at nwirp.org/gala  Early Bird (by 4/4): $175, Regular Ticket Price (after 4/4): $225 

To purchase your ticket(s), visit nwirp.org/gala and list JCIJ under “Group Name.” Please also let us know you’re attending at team@jewishcoalition.org. If you cannot attend, you can still support by making a gift online at nwirp.org/donate.

VOLUNTEER

In February, JCIJ trained 87 people to become Accompaniment volunteers. Thank you to those who joined the training and are getting ready to volunteer in this critical moment! 

JCIJ supports two free legal clinics!

  • A Monday afternoon TPS (Temporary Protected Status) and Employment Authorization legal clinic in Tukwila from 11:40am - 4:15pm for Spanish speakers. Seeking volunteers who are proficient Spanish-speakers—fluency is not required. No legal experience required. We’ll train you! Join an amazing team of dedicated volunteers. Weekly commitment is not required). Email Ellen K. at ellenkley@gmail.com. 

  • A monthly day-long Asylum Clinic for past and current residents of Riverton Park United Methodist Church. This clinic is held on weekends. We are seeking immigration lawyers or paralegals; non-immigration lawyers and paralegals; people with an interest in learning about immigration law; and people who have sufficient fluency in Spanish, Lingala, French, Haitian-Creole or Portuguese to serve as interpreters. Volunteer at tinyurl.com/jcijvolunteer.

RESOURCES

NWIRP Resources | Northwest Immigrant Rights Project

  • Check out webinars by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project that help provide recommendations and grounding in the reality of this moment and impacts on immigrant rights. 

  • Informational videos and PowerPoint slideshows from NWIRP and Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese for asylum seekers to help navigate the immigration court and asylum process.  

  • Know Your Rights Resources - When the government arrests or tries to arrest someone, or when a government official or police officer "just wants to talk," every person in the United States has certain basic rights. These rights apply to everyone, regardless of citizenship - and regardless of who is President. 

  • If you are detained at the Detention Center in Tacoma, call NWIRP at 253-383-0519

Family Safety Planning Webinar hosted by Legal Counsel for Youth and Children (LCYC) and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)

Resources for Deportation Defense | Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network

Reporting ICE Activity

  • Let’s not spread rumors! Report any ICE activity or raids to the WAISN Hotline (open 6am-6pm but can receive text messages at any hour). Call 844-724-3737. 

    • WAISN is requesting reports by firsthand observers (not secondhand accounts). Try to take photos and video, document location, time, and as much information as possible.

    • Text "ICE" or "Migra" to 509-300-4959 to receive news about raids in your community and check WAISN’s Facebook or Instagram for confirmation of ICE activity.

Additional WAISN Resources

Know Your Rights App 

This app developed by the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) is available for iPhones and is in 16 languages, including Asian languages, Spanish, Haitian Creole and Russian. It has the ability to read your rights out loud to an ICE or law enforcement agent and send a message to an emergency contact. It has other resources as well such as the ability to look up a consulate and a sample family preparedness plan. It will be ready for android phones soon.

Washington’s “sanctuary law,” formally called the Keep Washington Working Act, restricts the extent to which local law enforcement agencies may participate in federal immigration enforcement actions. The law prohibits the use of county jails for immigrant detention and does not allow local law enforcement to interview or detain those suspected of being an undocumented immigrant. 

In a survey conducted by InvestigateWest and Cascade PBS, the majority of Washington sheriffs said they would focus their resources on public safety and local laws, not federal immigration enforcement.

But some responses were less clear-cut. “The Pierce County Sheriff Office will abide by all enforceable U.S. immigration laws and legal mandates,” wrote Sheriff Keith Swank, who took office on Jan. 15. “Law enforcement agencies are obligated to honor applicable federal detainers. I believe there will be more legal guidance in the near future."

In the same vein, Grant County Sheriff Joe Kriete said in his statement that while his office is aware of the Keep Washington Working Act, his office “will not impede federal operations,” providing no further clarification.

Here’s what advocates are telling WA immigrants about ICE raids | Seattle Times

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project has seen a spike in the number of calls it has gotten for legal assistance and other help since President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Calls to the nonprofit, which provides legal representation to immigrants applying for legal status and benefits or facing deportation, have gone up 37% from August to January, said Matt Adams, the organization’s legal director.

Through the first weeks of the Trump administration, some are worried their applications for asylum or citizenship will stall, or they’re concerned that what they’ve already been granted could be stripped away, Adams said. Looming overhead is the threat of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents appearing at homes and workplaces across the state.

Read article for helpful Know Your Rights information.

Seattle family says migrant held at Guantánamo Bay was fleeing gangs | Seattle Times

The Seattle-area family of a Venezuelan migrant who was reportedly sent to a military facility in Guantánamo Bay said Sunday he had been falsely labeled as a violent gang member by the Trump administration.

FEDERAL NEWS

Senate GOP pushes ahead with budget bill that funds Trump’s mass deportations and border wall | AP

The Senate GOP package would allow $175 billion to be spent on border security, including funding for mass deportation operations and to build the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border; a $150 billion boost to the Pentagon for defense spending; and $20 billion for the Coast Guard.

Republicans are determined to push ahead after Trump’s border czar Tom Homan and top aide Stephen Miller told senators privately last week they are running short of cash to accomplish the president’s mass deportations and other border priorities.

Judge blocks ICE enforcement actions at churches, other houses of worship | USA Today

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering churches or targeting migrants nearby, a change in policy that religious groups fought as a violation of longstanding federal policy not to conduct enforcement actions in places of worship.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland ordered the Department of Homeland Security and its subdivision, ICE, not to conduct immigration enforcement actions "in or near any place of worship" associated with the case brought by Quakers, Baptists and Sikhs.

Advocates Call on Congress to Refuse to Legitimize “Invasion” Conspiracy Theory | Western States Center

Research shows the vast majority of immigrants come to the U.S. fleeing violence or seeking a better life for themselves and their families. However, the Administration’s claim that they are an “invasion” driven by malicious actors depicts immigrants as dangerous and criminal. This dehumanizing and conspiratorial rhetoric is rooted in white nationalism and antisemitism and has repeatedly animated racially-motivated violence. 

According to America’s Voice, 165 Members of the 118th Congress employed this rhetoric in their official capacity a total of 1,259 times. This bigoted narrative has inspired deadly attacks across the nation, targeting the Latino community in El Paso, Texas, Black Americans in Buffalo, New York, and Jews in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

SONGS IN THE KEY OF JCIJ

Curated by Dina Burstein, with help this month from Jacob Burstein-Stern.

“Motto"

In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times.

― Bertolt Brecht

Ibeyi - River
French-Cuban twin sisters Ibeyi sing about Oshun, the Yoruba goddess of fresh water.

Joe Troop - "Hermano Migrante" // GemsOnVHS™

Cesaria Evora - Petit pays
Cesaria Evora sings of her “Poor land full of Love,” Cape Verde.

Rhiannon Giddens - We Could Fly

John McCutcheon - Tikkun Olam
The American singer-songwriter is inspired by Midrash.

Be in touch with the Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice NW
at team@jewishcoalition.org and learn more at jewishcoalition.org.

Follow JCIJ on Facebook and Instagram.

Donate to build Jewish Coalition’s advocacy, accompaniment and community engagement.

Volunteer for or learn more about accompaniment, legal support, observing ICE flights, tutoring, interpreting, crafting JCIJ communications, and supporting immigrant-led partners.   

Kendra Berry
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February Newsletter