December Newsletter
December 1, 2025 • 11 Kislev 5786
TASTE OF HONEY
As we watch other Sanctuary cities and states across the country navigate and resist federal ICE escalation, we are getting ready to mobilize multifaith communities and take action when the time comes. This is a moment where we need all of us to resist while supporting impacted immigrant community members.
In counting down to Giving Tuesday, we are thankful for you! We could not build the nimble, responsive organization that the Jewish Coalition has become without your support.
Will you help grow JCIJ’s impact this Giving Tuesday and ensure we are ready for federal escalation? Thanks to generous donors, all donations up to $25,000 will be matched! Give today and double your support for JCIJ!
In the upcoming days and weeks ahead, we will work to continue to be your trusted resource on what is happening on the ground in Washington state. Thank you for being a part of the Jewish Coalition! We are grateful to take action together in this critical moment.
– Andrea Soroko Naar, JCIJ Executive Director
BUILDING COMMUNITY
Immigration attorney Jay Stansell, who has led Know Your Rights trainings with JCIJ, shares his thoughts about community and the power we have when we work together:
While we have all become accustomed to the workshop labels "Know Your Rights" and "KYR," what we really need to teach each other is our collective "Community Power." Though mechanics of KYR remain key, when we invoke those rights today we will likely face illegal ICE response. Knowing our rights is no longer enough.
We now teach and celebrate the Community Power that gives strength to our rights. Community Power strengthens each of us and invites others into our work, so that not one, but many, allies and at-risk Community Members come out to non-violently face, expose and slow ICE enforcement; so that not one but many activists come out to video-record ICE, send text alerts to neighborhood watch groups; so that we speak to agents in large numbers but one voice: "We don't answer questions!. Don't open your doors, ICE is present! You are not welcome in this space, in this community! We want you out of here!"
And Community Power expands and grows the resistance. Each one of you has someone for whom you are a role model and an example of how to respond to the darkness around us all. Each of you has many more people who look to you for advice, knowledge and information about the challenges we face. We can bring these family, friends, and colleagues into the movement, and keep building our communities of care, compassion and resistance.
The propaganda from ICE and the government wants us to believe that ICE is at war with the "worst of the worst" in our communities, that their numbers are so massive and armored that resistance is futile, when we, the people who live in these communities, know that they are attacking day-care workers, health care aides, roofers, landscapers, and the families that we see, respect and value every day.
We train each other in Community Power, because there is strength, beauty and poetry in Community. We are many -- and growing more each day -- and the cruel and uncaring people in power right now are far fewer in comparison, and far less powerful than they believe.
Thank you all for the work that you each do. It is a privilege to be among you in the effort to rebuild a better world. I'll close with some words from long-time activist Cleve Jones, who spoke at San Franciso's No Kings rally on October 18 and perfectly captures how I view community:
The pronouns I use the most are the ones probably understood the least by those in the White House today. They are WE, US and OURS.
We are in this together.
And it is up to us to be the leaders we need to save our country and our democracy. [. . .]
What will you do to imagine and launch and sustain the massive campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience and non-cooperation that history informs us is now required?
Look to your hearts and find the abiding strength that dwells there. Look to the sky and all the magnificent beauty that surrounds us still. Look to those who stand proudly at your shoulders. Look to your ancestors and claim your future.
We are the people.
Now is the time.
This is the moment.
ACTION ALERT
Join JCIJ’s Community Response List!
Here in Washington, we know we all belong. JCIJ is part of the statewide Washington for All Coalition, which is monitoring the situation and preparing responses to federal escalation. With this work, we’re making sure that we can remain your trusted resource and activate community to support our impacted neighbors.
We are planning ways to keep you up to date and mobilize the JCIJ community when the Trump administration turns to Washington State. This is where we need you: Help keep our state safe and join our Community Response List! Take action for emergent and urgent needs to support immigrants by filling out this form and sharing your communication preferences.
JCIJ EVENTS
Celebrate Hanukkah with JCIJ!
Sunday, December 14, 2025 | 2:00-4:00 PM
We need joy to successfully stand together! Light the way for immigrant justice at our annual Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, December 14, at 2:00 PM in North Seattle.
Join us for an afternoon of community, celebration, and Sephardic treats, along with live music by Chava Mirel. Teens and adults are welcome, and we'll be done in time for you to head home and light candles with your family.
PREPARING FOR LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Order your JCIJ shirt for IRAD by January 6!
Order your JCIJ shirt today to wear when advocating, volunteering, or being in community. If you're planning to come to WAISN's Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Day (IRAD) in Olympia on January 22, join us in wearing a matching JCIJ shirt. Or support JCIJ by having custom merch!
T-Shirts are unisex and fair trade. T-shirts will cost $36 per shirt and can be mailed to you or delivered in-person at WAISN's Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Day on January 22. Please place your order by Tuesday, 1/6/2026 at 5pm PT.
WAISN’s Immigrant Refugee & Advocacy Day (IRAD) in Olympia
Thursday, January 22
Join WAISN and JCIJ in Olympia on January 22 for Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Day 2026! JCIJ will be there - order a JCIJ shirt to match our group!
Register with WAISN by December 23, and make sure to order your JCIJ shirt by January 6! If you need support with transportation to Olympia, WAISN will provide buses from a few locations in the state.
IRAD is a celebration of community power, resilience, and solidarity. Every year, we come together from across Washington State to make our voices heard and demand change at the Capitol. This is a day where we show the power of our communities, advocating for the policies that matter most to immigrant and refugee families.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Grupo de Solidaridad: Migrant Cultural Night
Saturday, December 6 | 5:30 PM
Join Church Council of Greater Seattle’s Grupo de Solidaridad as they share traditional dances, taste incredible food, and win raffle prizes to raise funds for our immigration organizing! This event represents a special opportunity for migrants, neighbors, families, and friends to come together and experience the warmth that cultural proximity brings. Through sharing food, music, dance, and traditions from many countries, this event creates a space where each person can offer a piece of their identity and culture.
Torah for Tumultuous Times
Thursday, December 11 | 12:00-1:30 PM
Join Rabbi Ronit Tsadok, Director of Project Kavod, for monthly, stand-alone learning opportunities that draw on the wisdom and tools of Jewish tradition to help us navigate times of instability and uncertainty. Project Kavod is a Jewish Family Service initiative that connects our essential work to the core Jewish values that inspire and guide our mission. All members of the Jewish community are warmly invited to participate. Kosher, vegetarian lunch provided.
Virtual Immigration Justice Resistance Lab
Sunday, December 14 | 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
Congresswoman Jayapal, who was an immigrant rights' organizer before heading to Congress and is currently the top Democrat on the Immigration Subcommittee in Congress, will lead this Resistance Lab training. Dive into the history of our immigration system, how the administration is using immigration to advance their authoritarian agenda, and where we go from here. The training will also discuss concrete actions people can take to support immigrant communities and protect our democracy.
VOLUNTEER
JCIJ supports free legal clinics!
Volunteer at a monthly day-long Asylum Clinic. This clinic is held on weekends. We are seeking immigration lawyers or paralegals; non-immigration lawyers and paralegals; and people who have sufficient fluency in Spanish, Lingala, French, Haitian-Creole or Portuguese to serve as interpreters.
Adopt a Day Labor Corner | The National Day Laborer Organizing Network
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) is calling on all allies to Adopt a Day Labor Corner in your local community. If you are not at risk of deportation, NDLON asks you to consider taking action today. Adopt a Day Labor Corner asks you to go where day laborers congregate–like big box home improvement stores–where immigrant day laborers are at extreme risk of harassment and arrest. Choose a location convenient to you and commit to showing up regularly. Fill out the form on NDLON’s website to find out more and get connected to people in our local communities who have already adopted a corner.
RESOURCES
NWIRP Resources | Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
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 someone you know is detained at the Detention Center in Tacoma, call NWIRP at 253-383-0519.
Family Safety Plans by Legal Counsel for Youth and Children (LCYC)
Resources for Deportation Defense | Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network
Know Your Rights flyers and information in English, Spanish, French, Lingala, Portuguese, and Somali.
Support WAISN’s Fair Fight Bond Fund.
Know Your Rights App
This app developed by the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) is in many languages and has the ability to read your rights out loud to an ICE or law enforcement agent and send a message to an emergency contact.
Know someone who wants to be accompanied to their immigration appointment or hearing?
Contact the WAISN Hotline at 1-844-724-3737, Monday-Friday from 6am-6pm, and request accompaniment. Note: Please give as much lead time as possible. The Jewish Coalition will dispatch trained accompaniment volunteers.
View flyers in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Lingala here.
Printable Accompaniment Flyers in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Lingala.
Know someone who needs an immigration lawyer or who has been detained?
LOCAL NEWS
NWDC conditions research update: Ongoing concern for TPD response to crimes in immigration detention | University of Washington Center for Human Rights
The UW Center for Human Rights (UWCHR) has been closely monitoring the Tacoma Police Department's (TPD) response to reports of violence and criminal activity at ICE’s Northwest Detention Center (NWDC). The TPD’s failure to investigate reported criminal activity and reliance on NWDC staff for interpretation and incident reporting continue. Delays in records requests and a lack of transparency about TPD’s actions raise further concerns about accountability and hampers efforts to ensure that this vulnerable population benefits from the protection of the law.
ICE looks to WA tribes to house detained immigrants | Seattle Times
The Trump administration has approached tribes about housing detained immigrants, according to a Seattle Times report. The Nisqually Tribal Council said in a statement Friday evening it learned that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been talking to one of its staff members without consulting the council. The council said it also discovered ICE has been reaching out to other tribal governments and cities in Washington in an attempt to secure detention space. They rejected this request: “The Nisqually people are not in favor of, nor will the tribal council allow, the detention of individuals by ICE on our reservation or in our facilities,” said Tribal Chair E.K. Choke in the statement.
Hospitals are for healing, not detention | The Stand
This article highlights the case of Kuya G, a lawful permanent U.S. resident who experienced severe medical neglect while detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma (NWDC). After finally getting medical attention, he had to undergo amputation of part of his foot. Advocacy groups rallied to bring attention to his situation and issues related to medical neglect. The presence of armed guards undermines patient and worker safety and deters people from seeking necessary medical care.
Concerns flare over possibility of ICE detention facility on Oregon Coast | Washington State Standard
A vague letter from Team Housing Solutions, a Texas-based defense contractor, spurred concern in Newport that the federal government might establish an immigration detention facility on Oregon’s Central Coast. Newport officials are consulting with legal counsel, as Oregon bans private immigration detention centers.
FEDERAL NEWS
More than 250 arrested in Charlotte as immigration crackdown escalates | BBC
More than 250 people have been arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of the Trump administration’s escalating crackdown on undocumented immigration, US officials say. Local lawmakers and residents have railed against the detainments, which the federal government has dubbed "Operation Charlotte's Web". In response to the arrests, thousands of students in Charlotte protested ICE activity with absences and school walkouts on November 17.
Immigrant student enrollment is dwindling at schools across the US amid immigration crackdowns | Associated Press
“Schools around the U.S. are seeing big drops in enrollment of students from immigrant families. In some cases, parents have been deported or voluntarily returned to their home countries, driven out by President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown.”
Chicago’s pushback to immigration crackdown grows, inspiring other cities | Associated Press
“As an unprecedented immigration crackdown enters a third month, a growing number of Chicago residents are fighting back against what they deem a racist and aggressive overreach of the federal government. The Democratic stronghold’s response has tapped established activists and everyday residents from wealthy suburbs to working class neighborhoods. They say their efforts — community patrols, rapid responders, school escorts, vendor buyouts, honking horns and blowing whistles — are a uniquely Chicago response that other cities President Donald Trump has targeted for federal intervention want to model.”
Homeland Security missions falter amid focus on deportations | New York Times
Homeland Security and ICE do not make our country safer, according to a New York Times investigation. They found that diverting federal agents to focus on deportation and arresting immigrants has drastically reduced the progress of D.H.S’ priority public-safety missions. Homeland security investigators worked approximately 33 percent fewer hours on child exploitation cases from February through April compared to their average in prior years, according to a Times analysis of data obtained through the F.O.I.A. lawsuit.
ICE abuses in Los Angeles set stage for other cities | Human Rights Watch
“The U.S. government is conducting an ongoing campaign of raids and detentions across the country to advance a policy of mass deportation that is ripping families apart and terrorizing entire communities,” according to Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch has documented the impact of these raids through interviews, analysis of ICE arrest data, and review of media reports. Their findings reveal that most detainees lack any violent or criminal history in the US, and many of them have been pressured into agreeing to voluntary departures.
Court blocks new rules limiting which immigrants can get commercial drivers’ licenses | Seattle Times
“The Transportation Department’s new restrictions that would severely limit which immigrants can get commercial driver’s licenses to drive a semitrailer truck or bus have been put on hold by a federal appeals court. The court said the federal government didn’t follow proper procedure in drafting the rule and failed to ‘articulate a satisfactory explanation for how the rule would promote safety.’ According to the court, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s own data shows that immigrants who hold these licenses account for roughly 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses but only about 0.2% of all fatal crashes, the court said.”
SONGS IN THE KEY OF JCIJ
A few songs for hope and joy curated by Dina Burstein
Raices by Gloria Estefan - Cuban American singer and Latin grammy-winner this year.
In the Arms of the Angels by Sarah McLachlan - May this song from the Canadian singer-songwriter comfort you.
El amor de mi Herida by Carin Leon - Mexican singer songwriter won a Latin grammy this year.
I Can See Clearly Now by Jimmy Cliff - Jamaican singer-songwriter, died this week. Rest in peace and power!
Be in touch with the Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice NW
at team@jewishcoalition.org and learn more at jewishcoalition.org.
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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.