June Newsletter

Written By Kendra Berry

June 1, 2025 • 5 Sivan 5785

COMMUNITY UPDATE

ICE Presence in Seattle Immigration Court - Know Your Rights and Get Accompaniment Support

  • Community members already in immigration court must have the opportunity to pursue their immigration cases before an immigration judge.

  • It is very important that community members who have immigration court hearings scheduled show up to court and continue to attend their hearings to avoid a deportation order in their absence. 

  • ICE/ERO seems to be targeting people with dismissed immigration cases as they are leaving court (once the court dismisses a case, the court no longer has jurisdiction, and presumably there is no longer pending relief) and who have been in the U.S. for less than two continuous years to effectuate expedited removal. 

Know someone who is wanting to be accompanied to their immigration appointment or hearing?

Know someone who needs an immigration lawyer or who has been detained?

See JCIJ's Resource How to Support an Immigrant Who Is Detained in WA 

English & Spanish versions with concrete details, links, and a list of lawyers.

TAKE ACTION

Send a Letter to Congress!

Let’s continue to pressure Congress about the abducted men who have been sent to El Salvador. This includes Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported there. The administration has admitted it was an "administrative error," but they are refusing to facilitate his return, in open defiance of an order from the US Supreme Court. This is an attack on the rights of both citizens and non-citizens.

EVENTS

JCIJ Annual Summer Gathering | September 7

Save the date and join us for the Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice's 3rd annual Summer Gathering to come together in community! JCIJ's Summer Gathering will take place at a Seattle park on Sunday, September 7th at 10:30am. Please register for location; tickets are free.

Together we can grow an even stronger community of JCIJ advocates, action takers, and accompaniment volunteers. Come learn more about how to get involved or deepen your engagement in accompaniment and advocacy over brunch and music. There will also be time for chatting ~ schmoozing (Yiddish) or to echar lashon (Ladino)!

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Temporary Protected Status Asamblea | May 20

MLK Labor and the National TPS Alliance invite you to join them at one of two meetings on Thursday, June 5. Attend to learn more about the future of TPS (Temporary Protected Status), get updates on litigation of TPS, and learn next steps for working together to create a local chapter of the National TPS Alliance!

ACRS Walk for Rice | June 28

Walk for Rice is a community-powered fundraiser that benefits the ACRS Food Bank, providing nutritious, culturally familiar foods to thousands of individuals and families in need. Most food banks offer limited choices and often lack basic staples important to Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander diets. Walk for Rice hopes to close that gap by raising funds for rice, tofu, fresh produce, and more. The campaign kicks off in the spring and concludes with a multicultural community celebration and three-mile walk at Seward Park in June.

VOLUNTEER

JCIJ supports free legal clinics!

  • 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

  • May Immigration Update from NWIRP - Learn about what is going on in this current moment. Video begins in Spanish; English starts at 47:10.

  • 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

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.

LOCAL NEWS

ICE arrests at WA immigration court spark fear of fast-track removal | Seattle Times

If the attorneys’ suspicions are true, ICE is carrying out the Trump administration’s latest strategy to amp up deportations, which have been lagging behind the massive numbers the administration has said it wants. Immigration attorneys said such an approach would deny people the right to have their cases heard in court.

“It feels like an underhanded way to circumvent protections for people,” said Gabe Harrison, a Bellingham immigration lawyer who saw the ICE officers outside the courtroom.

Port of Seattle ‘concerned’ about immigration actions at Sea-Tac | Seattle Times

The Port of Seattle Commission said Friday it is “deeply concerned” about federal immigration officials’ recent actions at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

In a news release, the commissioners said they are pressing federal officials for answers about people being held in custody at the airport for extended periods. While the Port of Seattle oversees the airport, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has authority over international travel.

A legal permanent resident, Maximo Londonio, was detained at Sea-Tac for over four days before the 42-year-old, who immigrated to the U.S. at 12, was transferred this week to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. He was pulled aside by CBP officers after returning from a trip to the Philippines with his wife and daughter.

Judge Temporarily Blocks ICE From Detaining Or Deporting UW Student | Seattle Times

Attorneys representing international students say the recent terminations of visas held by international students appear to rely on data from law enforcement or immigration databases, such as SEVIS, and often happen without formal charges or convictions. A federal judge in Tacoma ordered the government to temporarily reinstate one student’s legal status, blocking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from detaining or deporting him. 

Immigrant Enforcement Trends in WA State | Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network

The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) is providing updates on immigration enforcement activities twice a month on Facebook and Instagram to help ensure people stay informed, supported, and protected.

We’re strongest when we come together and look out for each other, and being informed is an important step toward protecting one another and building a community rooted in truth and solidarity.

 During the months of January to April, WAISN confirmed 103 individual detentions, many during traffic stops or check-ins; and 37 workplace detentions in Washington. Since the start of the year they also documented consistent patterns:

  • ICE vehicles parked near businesses

  • Agents walking through neighborhoods and knocking on doors in order to obtain information about someone 

  • People being stopped in traffic or parking lots

We’ve also seen an escalation in how enforcement is happening. ICE is detaining people during everyday moments - while driving, at immigration check-ins, even at the grocery store. But our communities are also responding to meet this moment: calls to the WAISN Hotline to report activity have increased, and we’ve had 51 WAISN Rapid Response Team activations during this time. Rapid Response volunteers are mobilizing, organizing, and developing strategies to confirm reports of immigration activity in our communities and to support impacted families.

Check out WAISN’s post with updates on immigration enforcement activities.

FEDERAL NEWS

Bend the Arc breaks down the Budget Bill. UPDATE: This bill recently passed the House and will head to the Senate. Stay tuned for upcoming action alerts.

This budget bill is how Trump and his supporters plan to pay for their attacks on immigrants and tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans: by taking money from vital services like health care and using it to fund more mass detention and deportation — often in the name of Jewish safety!

Immigrant arrests at courthouses signal new tactic in Trump’s deportation push | Seattle Times

Masked officers descended on courthouses across the country this week and arrested stunned immigrants showing up for scheduled immigration hearings as part of a new directive from federal officials aimed at dramatically accelerating deportations.

Think Immigration: Birthright Citizenship on the Brink: Takeaways from Trump v. CASA Oral Argument | American Immigration Lawyers Association

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Trump v. CASA, Trump v. Washington, and Trump v. New Jersey, and the Justices previewed their thoughts on the legality of President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship in the United States. The Trump Administration is seeking to lift the nationwide injunctions blocking Executive Order 14160 (January 20, 2025) and allow the executive branch to rewrite how and if individuals born in the U.S. are deemed to be U.S. citizens.

The Real ID: What to Know | Immigrants Rising

The federal REAL ID Act presents new ways driver’s licenses and identification cards from states can be used when getting on a flight or entering secured federal buildings (like federal courthouses, military bases, etc). After the May 7, 2025 deadline, individuals boarding domestic flights and entering federal facilities will need to present a REAL ID (if they are planning to use a state-issued identification or driver’s license) or other acceptable forms of identification (such as an unexpired foreign passport).

SONGS IN THE KEY OF JCIJ

Curated by Dina Burstein

Achat Sha'alti by Aly Halpert ft. Rachel Chang “One thing I asked of God” from Psalm 27

Paisajes by Ciro Hurtado- Latin GRAMMY® Nominated Album Palomitas song by Peruvian guitarist Ciro Hurtado

Ana Moura - Desfado - Le Live Portuguese singer songwriter

Immigres by Senegalese singer Yousou N'dour

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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May Newsletter