Timeline

• Jan 16-23 // Study and consensus questions to Local Leagues.
• First week of Feb // Study Committee hosts state-wide Zoom informational meeting. There will be a morning and evening session. Recording will be available.
• Feb/Mar // Local Leagues undertake study and consensus; Local League boards submit their League’s consensus.

Files

• Welcoming Immigrants to Washington State Study 
• Online Discussion/Consensus Questions Forms—Coming in January

Executive Summary

In 2017, Governor Jay Inslee issued Executive Order 17-01, reaffirming that “the state of Washington shall remain a welcoming jurisdiction that embraces diversity with compassion and tolerance and recognizes the value of immigrants” (Inslee 2017). In 2019, the Legislature adopted SB 5497, also known as the Keep Washington Working Act (KWW). In enacting the law, the Legislature held that Washington “has a substantial and compelling interest in ensuring the state of Washington remains a place where the rights and dignity of all residents are maintained and protected (SB 5497).” This study examines the role of state and local governments and civil society in carrying out the intent of the Executive Order and KWW, as well as the more than 75 other laws enacted in the past 15 years to help immigrants statewide. In addition to identifying state and local legislation, the study examines other policies, practices, and court cases that address the barriers immigrants face. It also looks at the role of civil society in advocating for legislative and policy changes on behalf of immigrants, as well the role of immigrants themselves in these efforts.

The League of Women Voters (LWV) national policy on immigration is the policy of LWV of Washington (LWVWA). While this position supports admission policies that are in the national interest, as well as protection of immigrants’ rights, regardless of their status, it does not address many issues that concern immigrants residing in Washington state. This study examines a broader scope of policies affecting immigrants and also addresses the role the League could play to ensure immigrants have pathways to economic, social, and civic engagement in the communities in which they live. The framework of the study identifies the benefits immigrants provide as well as the barriers they face with regard to four principal issues in the state of Washington:

• Economic opportunities
• Language facilitation and skills acquisition
• Social inclusion
• Civic engagement

The study team, composed of League members from throughout the state, used both quantitative and qualitative analysis to address these issues. The sources of information include:

• literature review;
• survey of Local Leagues;
• state legislation, regulations and law cases pertaining to immigrants;
• census and other quantitative data on immigrants in Washington;
• Interviews conducted with 25 informants representing expertise in a range of issues, geographic areas, and socio-economic characteristics of immigrants, including state and county officials, nongovernmental organization (NGOs) that are led or work with immigrants, public schools, healthcare facilities, employers, and immigrants;
• a systematic review of websites and reports issued by state and local governments and NGOs working with and for immigrants and refugees.

This information was used to determine the composition of the immigrant population in the state of Washington, background on the contributions made and barriers faced by immigrants, state and local policies and programs that affect immigrants, NGOs working with immigrants, current policy advocacy on behalf of immigrants in Washington, needs of immigrants and gaps in policies and programs, and the extent to which different local Leagues in Washington engage with immigrants.

The immigration system is very complex; there are more than 30 different categories of immigrants, each with different rights and benefits, some with pathways to citizenship and others without. As a result of these complexities, immigrants with similar backgrounds, or even in the same family, may be eligible for different rights, privileges, and services, despite having similar needs (see Glossary and Appendix 1 for details about the categories of immigrants). For example, even within the same family, some legal immigrants may be eligible to naturalize and others not. For non-citizen immigrants, obtaining status or renewing visas is complex, costly, can take a long time, and a pathway to citizenship may even be impossible. This is stressful, especially in a mixed-status family where there is the possibility of family separation. In particular, obtaining work authorization is crucial to being able to support one’s family.

Just over 15% of Washingtonians are immigrants. They have many types of immigration status. About half of all immigrants in the state are naturalized citizens, and the other half includes non-citizens, both with and without legal status. Immigrants with legal status include permanent residents, as well as foreign contract workers, international students, refugees, asylum seekers, those with TPS, and DACA, among others. Undocumented immigrants, those who have entered the U.S. without permission or who have overstayed or violated their visas, make up 3.4% of Washington’s overall population and 4.3% of its workforce.

The contribution of immigrants to our economy is significant. Immigrant households earned about $73 billion in 2022 in Washington state. They paid about $20 billion in taxes, $14.7 billion in federal taxes, including $6.5 billion in social security and $2 billion in Medicare, and $5.5 billion in state and local taxes (American Immigration Council 2024).

Immigrants are even more important to the workforce; nearly one in five workers in Washington are immigrants. They are concentrated in both high-income and low-income jobs. As examples, 77% of all agricultural workers in the state are immigrants, 51.3% of all software developers are immigrants, 48.9% of all maids and housekeepers are immigrants, and 36.4% of all health aids in the state are immigrants. Immigrants are also more likely than native-born to start businesses; over one in five entrepreneurs in Washington is an immigrant and they generated $3 billion a year in business income.

Nearly half of Washington’s immigrants come from Asia, and most immigrants (63%) have been in the U.S. since before 2010. More than one in five Washingtonians speak a language other than English at home. Most immigrants live in Western Washington, with King County having both the largest number of immigrants, and immigrants comprising the highest percentage of the population relative to other counties in Washington.

While over 18% of home purchases were by immigrants, immigrants identified affordable housing as a problem. The lack of affordable housing is exacerbated by delays in obtaining work authorization, lack of English skills, lack of recognition and cost of certification of professional credentials, and/or having to take entry level or low paying jobs. Interviewees pointed to the need to help immigrants gain work authorization and recognition of their professional credentials.

Access to health insurance is a particular problem for about one in eight legal immigrants and one in three undocumented immigrants. Washington state has led the nation by providing healthcare to undocumented children and allowing undocumented adults to buy insurance on the health exchange (Hocker 2024). In the 2023-24 legislative session, the Legislature provided funding for 13,000 undocumented adults to access Applecare. However, the demand far exceeded this budget allocation. Access to mental health care is even more difficult for immigrants, many of whom have experienced severe trauma in their home country, in their journey to the U.S., and/or while in the U.S. There are long waiting lists for therapists who have language and cultural competency.

The study revealed a lack of English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction for both school children and adults. The study also identified a need for state and local governments to address language access to ensure that immigrants can avail themselves of government and community services and engage in civic life. At the same time, children of immigrants and immigrant children represent a pool of future bilingual workers. Much of this potential is untapped as only some school districts are pursuing dual language programs, despite a state program that encourages dual language education. There is a degree of irony in this given that school districts also are experiencing a shortage of bilingual educators; they have a pool of future bilingual educators in their classrooms.

Legal representation is the key to obtaining immigration status, but there is no right to public representation in immigration court. The study found access to legal services, the cost of applying for immigration status or naturalization, and the length of time for immigration cases to be adjudicated create stress for immigrants. The risk of family separation is the greatest fear voiced by immigrants. Litigation is also one of the few ways to overturn federal policies that harm immigrants, as shown in the successful court cases that Washington State and immigrant rights groups initiated from 2016-2020.

Anti-immigrant bias, discrimination, and safety concerns were issues raised by immigrants and immigrant-led organizations (Reyes 2024; Guillen and Juarez 2024; Goss 2024). This is of particular concern for children, as they may experience bullying for dressing and talking differently. These experiences prevent integration into social and civic life, and create barriers in terms of lack of trust.

Washington state is also home to one of the country’s largest immigration detention facilities. Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC), located in Tacoma, is the only immigration detention facility in the Pacific Northwest and it is operated by a for-profit company. Among detention facilities in the U.S., it has among the country’s highest use of solitary confinement, the longest times in detention, the lowest granting of bonds, and among the highest values of bonds set. Many of the people in detention are asylum seekers who have no right to free legal representation. Legal representation is the most crucial factor in winning their cases.

The many needs that immigrants face as they attempt to create new lives are often addressed in a piecemeal way by nonprofits or state agencies that lack resources. There are many nonprofits in Washington working with immigrants. Many of these groups are immigrant and refugee led. However, neither they nor state agencies working with immigrants have the capacity to fulfill the needs of all immigrants in the state. In addition to greater resources, there is a need for coordination of efforts. Study interviews revealed repeated calls for one-stop resources for immigrants and the need for advocates and navigators to assist immigrants with bureaucracy, language, and culture. In particular, those who work with immigrants identified the need to address immigrants’ needs holistically because of the interactions among the challenges they face: status affects access to jobs; jobs affect access to housing and health care; and language affects access to almost everything.

The study also examined what Washington State Local Leagues are doing with regard to integration of immigrants in Washington. Using a survey, the study team found that about two-thirds of the local Leagues indicated interest in finding ways to connect with immigrant organizations and liked the idea of welcoming immigrants to their communities. Registering naturalized citizens to vote is the most notable action of local Leagues. About a third of Leagues also asked questions about immigration issues at their candidate forums. About 25% of the Leagues have partnered with a refugee or immigration agency that operates in Washington state. And, a quarter of local Leagues have provided legislative updates on policies related to immigration or immigrants to their members. Few Leagues, however, have taken steps to recruit immigrants and naturalized citizens to join their League. Most Leagues were interested, though, in learning more about the results of the study and potential actions they could take.

While there are many areas where the Washington state legislative, judicial, and executive branches have provided leadership with respect to immigrants, the Immigration Study Committee identified 12 issues impeding the ability of the state to address the needs of immigrants:

1. Countering xenophobia, discrimination against immigrants, and extreme anti-immigration rhetoric.
2. Likely need to litigate federal policies that harm immigrants and undermine the benefits accruing to Washington from a safe and orderly immigration process at the federal level.
3. Funding to ensure greater access to legal representation for immigrants in removal proceedings as well as those applying for citizenship, legal permanent residence, asylum, TPS, or other legal immigration status.
4. Provisions by state and local governments to provide accessible services to all residents, regardless of immigration status.
5. Need for a holistic approach to providing immigrants with services that takes into account the interconnected challenges that they face.
6. Coordination amongst the state agencies that interact with immigrants and refugees.
7. Working conditions for immigrants, particularly those in low-income jobs.
8. Access to health and mental health services for immigrants, regardless of their immigration status.
9. Delays in issuance of work permits, advocating the use of ITINs to access state services, exploring the legality of issuance of work permits or provisional work authorization, elimination or reduction in fees, and streamlining of the overall process.
10. Funding of programs to ensure greater access to English language classes, civics education, naturalization preparation, and interpretation/translation services for immigrants.
11. Closure of private detention centers, such as Northwest ICE Processing Center; immediate reforms to ensure the safety and well-being of those who are detained; and abolition of detention of asylum-seekers, except for purposes of establishing identity.
12. Implementation and efficacy of existing legislation and policies aimed at assisting, protecting and welcoming immigrants.

In addition, the study points to best practices that the LWVWA and local Leagues can adopt to help welcome immigrants and refugees:

1. Reaching out proactively to immigrants to learn more about their needs.
2. Forming partnerships at the state and local levels with immigrant led and immigrant serving organizations to advocate for needed reforms.
3. Enhancing efforts to help immigrants naturalize, focusing in particular on civics education.
4. Enhancing voter registration programs to include the newly naturalized, naturalized citizens new to the state, and those who never registered anywhere.
5. Translating election ballots into languages not covered under state or federal law.
6. Holding forums to help naturalized citizens understand the voting process in Washington state, as it may be very different from what happened in their home country.
7. Circulating the Leagues’ civic education books to immigrants and naturalized citizens.
8. Sponsoring refugees for resettlement through the Welcome Corps.
   
   

LWVWA Immigration Study Committee: Susan Martin, Chair (LWV of The San Juans); Judy Golberg (LWV of Benton and Franklin Counties); Christine Grantham (LWV of Benton and Franklin Counties); Janet Lenart (LWV of Seattle King County); Terri Martin (LWV of Seattle King County); Lydia Zepeda (LWV of Tacoma-Pierce County); Shelley Kneip (LWVWA Board of Directors); Mary Coltrane, LWVWA President

Co-Authors

Susan Martin, professor emerita, PhD

Lydia Zepeda, professor emerita, PhD

Reading Committee

Beth Pellicciotti (LWV of Spokane Area)

Cynthia Stewart (LWV of Tacoma-Pierce County)

Marsha Stipe (LWV of Benton and Franklin Counties)

Technical Reading Committee

Kathy Freidman, University of Washington

Edward Alden, University of Western Washington

Next Steps

The LWVWA uses an established consensus process in developing positions on studies. This study is the first step in that process. Next, local Leagues will meet to develop consensus on the issues raised in the study and then adopt a written statement of position on the issues, which the LWVWA Board approves.