By Carolyn Bick
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
As federal immigration raids have increased and many immigrants have avoided going to work altogether, Washington is considering legislation that would protect immigrant workers at their places of employment. Federal agents are also issuing an increasing number of employment audits, and outright detaining legal green card holders.
According to the American Immigration Council, most of Washington’s immigrants are from India, China, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown co-announced the legislation with state Sen. Rebecca Saldaña and state Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self at a news conference on Dec. 5.
If passed, the legislation would require employers to notify their employees when the federal government has requested their employment eligibility information, as well as ensure that employers follow the law and only share that employment data when a judge issues either a subpoena or judicial warrant. It would also remind employers that federal immigration agents cannot enter their workplaces without that warrant.
“This administration rounds up hardworking people trying to provide for their families. This is laid out in the facts. This is not up for debate,” Brown said. “Almost half of those arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Washington state this year had no criminal record, zero. These were people helping to keep our economy thriving, contributing to the improvement of our communities, and doing the same things that everyone else in this state does every day. Washington has one of the biggest immigrant communities of any state.”
“Tens of thousands of people in Washington now live in fear, scared to leave their house, to go to work, or to let their children go to school.” Brown continued, “That fear is understandable. When you listen to the torrent of racism and hatred spewed from the president’s mouth, that is a natural reaction in this moment.”
Ortiz-Self noted that “undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. These are our neighbors, our classmates, our coworkers, and our friends, and they deserve safety and stability, not fear and uncertainty. We will not tolerate intimidation or discriminatory enforcement.”
“The impacts to our state and national economy are shown by major shortages across industries we all rely on, such as construction and agriculture, hospitality, wholesale trade, transportation, and warehousing,” Ortiz-Self said, referencing numerous and increasing reports of worker shortages throughout the state, since Donald Trump took office. “These incidents are part of a broader trend. Federal enforcement actions that target and intimidate workers, who often have no notice, no ability to gather documentation, and no information about their rights under Washington state law. The result is a powerful chilling effect. People become less willing to speak up about exploitation, which allows bad actors to undercut employers who follow the law.”
Several White Center business owners attested to the conditions of fear many of their and fellow small businesses’ immigrant employees—regardless of documentation status—are feeling. White Center has a large, diverse immigrant population, among which is a growing Khmer community.
Salvadorean Bakery owner Ana Castro also said that federal immigration actions are keeping potential customers at home, which hurts small businesses even more.
“The small businesses right now are suffering, because we don’t have enough customers,” Castro said. “Because a lot of people—it doesn’t matter if they have their legal status—they’re scared to go out because they are afraid to be snatched by ICE and law enforcement.”
In a later news release, Brown’s office cited an Immigration Research Initiative (IRI) report that revealed that even though immigrants make up just 15% of the state’s workforce, they generate 21% of the state’s economic output. A different July report by the IRI shows that each time ICE arrests increase, “there is a decline in the percentage of immigrants arrested who are reported as ‘criminals’—people with a criminal conviction, including some whose charges have been dismissed or are still pending.”
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