The Study on Immigration and Immigrant Integration in WA addresses an important aspect of immigration policy—that is, what happens to immigrants after they come to the United States. More than 1.1 million people, accounting for 15 percent of Washington State residents, are immigrants while another 14 percent is a native-born U.S. citizen with at least one immigrant parent. Most immigrants in the state have legal status in this country but a significant minority (about 25%) are without authorization to reside or work in this country. Almost half of immigrants in Washington are naturalized citizens. Most of the remainder are legal permanent residents, who are eligible to naturalize after 3 or 5 years, depending on the category in which they were admitted to the country. Most immigrants are the relatives of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents already in the country. A smaller number are employees sponsored by U.S. businesses and persons admitted as refugees or for other humanitarian reasons. Immigrants are a disproportionate share of both high wage and low wage employment sectors: In Washington, they represent 42 percent of agricultural workers as well as 23 percent of professional services. Net migration accounted for 86% of the state’s population growth in 2022.

The Study provides an opportunity to delve more deeply into legislative options at the state level for enhancing the lives of immigrants and the role the League could be playing in ensuring immigrants have pathways to economic, social, and civic integration into the communities in which they live. Individual Leagues already undertake actions, such as registering people at naturalization services or supporting English language classes, that can have profound effects on newcomers. The study will also allow LWVWA to assess systematically the extent to which current WA state legislation, such as the 2019 Keep Washington Working (KWW) Act, is fulfilling the legislative intent to protect immigrants living in the state.

The expected length of time needed for completion of the study is 18-24 months. Possible sources of information include: census data on immigrants in WA; analysis of state legislation and regulations pertaining directly or indirectly to immigrants/integration; interviews with stakeholders, such as NGOs that work with immigrants, public schools, healthcare facilities and others who provide services to immigrants; a survey of immigrants themselves on their needs and access to services; interviews with elected officials (e.g., state legislators, county commissioners) with particular interest in immigration issues; interviews with non-elective current and former state and county government officials. We need participation of local Leagues if the Study is to be a success. Local leagues are repositories of information about the needs of immigrants, existing integration programs, as well as gaps in services.

Our first step is to form a Study Committee. We seek interested League members from throughout the state to serve on the committee. It is particularly important to get representation from both urban and rural counties with significant immigrant populations. For more information, please contact Susan Martin, President, LWV of the San Juans, at martinsf@georgetown.edu for more information.