WA Reps. send open letter to ICE Director, DHS Secretary re: raid in Bellingham

||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN |||

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), along with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Rep. Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Rep. Emily Randall (WA-06), Rep. Adam Smith (WA-09) and Rep. Kim Schrier (WA-08) have sent the following letter to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons and DHS Secretary Noem:

Dear Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:

We write to express our deep concerns over the recent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across Washington State. We are especially alarmed at the recent ICE raid that took place in Bellingham, Washington. Raids like this have devastating consequences for our communities.

On Wednesday in Bellingham, ICE officers entered a workplace, pointed guns at employees, and took away 37 community members in unmarked vans. For months, the Trump administration has insisted that their deportation efforts are focused on “the worst of the worst” and true public safety threats. In reality, there is no indication that the people detained this week are anything other than dedicated parents working hard to support their families and positive contributors to their communities.

Because of this raid and other detainments across the country, the fear of being taken away at gunpoint in unmarked vans is becoming widespread. This fear leaves students and employees scared to go to class and to go to work. It cripples our small businesses and local economies. And critically, it makes it more difficult for state and local law enforcement to build and maintain trust with the communities they serve. ICE actions like the raid that took place in Bellingham are making our communities less safe.

Every individual detained has a right to due process, including the right to speak to an attorney. We will be closely monitoring these cases to ensure that ICE is following the law.

To that end, we request that you immediately provide the following information:

1. Details on individuals ICE encountered during the enforcement action, including the number of people who were taken into custody, broken down by gender, age, nationality, immigration status, and rationale for targeting them in a raid.
2. Information on how many of those arrested had previously received a stay of removal, order of supervision or other form of prosecutorial discretion pursuant to prosecutorial discretion guidelines in place prior to January 2017.
3. Information on how many of those arrested have pending asylum claims.
4. The manner in which ICE may or may not have collaborated with state and local law enforcement agencies.

We look forward to your response.