Protecting rural immigrant populations from expanding reach of ICE
reports that in the northwest corner of Washington State, activists organize to assist local immigrant communities with legal protections against ICE trying to meet the Trump administration's deportation goals.
Protecting rural immigrant populations from expanding reach of ICE
Helping people understand their rights might seem like dry legal work, but working for Jefferson County Immigrant Rights Association (JCIRA) allowed Courtney Morales-Thral, the Multicultural Center administrator, to make a real difference in the lives of immigrants on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.
"We heard recently that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was parked in front of the hospital in Port Angeles, and that stopped someone from going to see a baby in the hospital because they didn't feel safe," Morales-Thrall told . "That's going to make people turn around and go home or go to a different hospital, which may be out here, rurally, an hour or two away"
Despite the Keep Washington Working Act passed in 2019, which prohibits law enforcement from detaining anyone to determine their immigration status and working with CBP or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, amongst other rights, immigrants have good reasons to feel nervous.Â
The immigrant community here still bears the trauma of a campaign waged against them in 2008.Â
After a suspected terrorist was apprehended at the Port Angeles border, the number of agents increased from four agents to 25. Suddenly, checkpoints appeared on highways, with CBP and ICE agents demanding to see IDs and other documents from drivers and bus passengers. They also monitored public places, like hospitals and schools.Â
In the 2011 documentary it was reported that between February and November 2008, the border patrol stopped 24,524 vehicles at 53 roadblocks in Washington State. These stops led to 81 undocumented immigrants being taken into custody, though they were unable to find any additional evidence of terrorist activity. "The community was decimated by the amount of deportations, stops, and the trauma of that time in this area," Morales-Thrall said.
In that same documentary, Pastor John Topal from St. Mary of the Sea Catholic Church in Port Townsend summed up the cultural shift by saying, "The border patrol says it will not apprehend people in churches or schools, but their presence at these institutions nevertheless has had a chilling effect."
Trump's recent executive order allowing ICE into formerly protected spaces like hospitals and schools has reignited that trauma for many in the immigrant community, regardless of the State's new protections.Â
Linda Rosenbury, the superintendent of Port Townsend Schools, is working closely with JCIRA to help parents and high school students understand their rights and give them the support and reassurance they need to continue attending school.
The school is also working with staff to understand what types of warrants allow immigration agents into part of the school beyond the main office and what kind of legal support they can get if they have an emergency need.
Alongside having clear messaging for immigrant families and teaching staff, the school also helps families make plans in case anything does happen.
"When I've studied ICE raids in the past, it's a major impact on a community. If there is an ICE raid at a local employer and then there are multiple children left without caretakers," Rosenbury said. "If we had to place students in ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥, we would follow family plans and ensure that there's a safe place for every student."
While the schools are focusing on the physical well-being of immigrant families, JCIRA has found a way to help support both their understanding of their rights and their mental well-being through a trauma-informed therapy program specifically for immigrants.Â
"We started a mental health partnership with an organization, a nonprofit based in Mexico because therapy is hugely cost-prohibitive for a lot of people and also has a lack of cultural understanding and language proficiency," Morales-Thrall said.
JCIRA connects local immigrants with a therapist in Mexico who specializes in migration and trauma through a new low-bar support program.Â
"The majority of the immigrants we work with are Mexican, Latino, Guatemalan, and so that's the focus, but it's not just for those people," Morales-Thrall said. This program brought a resource to rural Jefferson County, whose local hospital has struggled to find the resources to provide even basic language support.Â
"There's one doctor that speaks pretty good Spanish, and so that's really great, but therapists, absolutely not," Morales-Thrall said. "And even if they had a nice white lady that speaks Spanish, it wouldn't be the same. Because people need that cultural understanding when you're talking about immigration."
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