Immigration In The Northwest

205 Stories

Human rights group raises alarm about use of force, chemical weapons at Tacoma ICE center

The University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights is raising concerns about the use of force at the federal immigration detention center in Tacoma and how they're being reported.
Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez

August 17, 2023 / 11:53 am
Tacoma Refugee Choir helps members find hope and home through song

Over the past 10 years, more than 30,000 refugees, from more than 70 countries have resettled in Washington state through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. It’s one thing to welcome refugees; it’s another to make them feel at home. The Tacoma Refugee Choir has helped give that feeling to refugees, as well as immigrants and native U.S. citizens.
Libby Denkmann

Jason Burrows

Alex Rochester

March 30, 2023 / 4:56 pm
A year after Kabul's fall, Afghan families fear for loved ones left behind

Dinner is more than nourishment. It’s a way to connect, to celebrate, to offer thanks. On a recent evening in SeaTac, Afghan families gathered to thank all those who helped them escape during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. They were also marking the one-year anniversary of that traumatic moment.
Ruby de Luna

September 01, 2022 / 4:53 pm
'Sacrificing everything for hope.' NW poet gives voice to migration stories

In some families, the stories of why and how our ancestors immigrated to the United States are passed from generation to generation like lore. But in others...those stories are packed away and locked shut. Those unspoken conversations around migration inspired poet Ricardo Ruiz to travel back home to eastern Washington, and interview family and friends about their experiences emigrating from Mexico to Washington farming communities.
Noel Gasca

July 20, 2022 / 10:46 am
A charter school chain promised a world-class education. Instead, they billed the state and let kids ‘sit there quietly’

Impact Public Schools has become the state's largest charter school chain by promising families an alternative to what it calls "the factory model" of education. Every student would receive a personalized education plan, Impact told
Ann Dornfeld

May 24, 2022 / 4:07 pm
What can Seattle expect from its new director of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs?

Last week Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced that Seattle Port Commissioner Hamdi Mohamed would be joining his administration as Director of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. But what does she hope to do in that position?
Libby Denkmann

Sarah Leibovitz

January 19, 2022 / 4:39 pm
Decades later, a collection of photographs is filling in the corners of Washington's Latino history

Irwin Nash photographed the living and working conditions of workers in the Yakima Valley during the height of the United Farm Workers' Movement. Thanks to technology, his photos are bringing that story to the forefront today.
Alec Cowan

January 13, 2022 / 4:00 pm
Private immigrant prison in Tacoma must now pay working detainees minimum wage

A federal jury ruled this week that GEO Group, the company that runs the Northwest ICE Processing Center for immigrants, must pay working detainees the state’s minimum wage. Thousands of past detainees are eligible for back pay in a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit.
Casey Martin

October 29, 2021 / 11:02 am
WA attorney general sues to close Tacoma immigrant detention center

Washington state's attorney general is suing to try to force the immediate closure of the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma.
Paige Browning

September 30, 2021 / 3:33 pm
Washington preparing for surge of Afghan refugees in coming weeks

Washington is anticipating another wave of refugees from Afghanistan. Approximately 143 Afghan people have resettled here between end of July and August 14th. Here’s what refugees can expect once they arrive.
Ruby de Luna

August 24, 2021 / 3:42 pm

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