On Wednesday, Governor Inslee announced $1.2 million in new funding to support civil legal services for individuals, families, and unaccompanied minors provided by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Group (NWIRP).
This new funding includes the $1 million grant previously approved by the legislature this year, as well as an additional $233,000 in emergency funding by executive order.
“The horrific separation of children from their parents at our southern border is just the latest in an ongoing effort by the president’s administration to terrorize immigrant families and those seeking asylum or refuge,” said Inslee in a statement Wednesday morning. “Everyone is entitled to a fair and due process, and this funding will help make sure Washington is doing everything it can to protect that system of justice for all.”
During a press conference announcing the new funding, Jorge Baron, Executive Director of NWIRP, said the money will be used to hire additional immigration attorneys to represent families and individuals in immigration court who do not have a legal right to representation.
Inslee told reporters that there are currently nine children being held in Washington State who have been separated from their parents, but provided no further details.
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Prior to Inslee’s press conference, President Trump signed an executive order ending the practice of separating families, but maintaining the policy that all who cross the border illegally will be criminally prosecuted.
Despite the executive order, Inslee says the damage has already been done to the 2,300 children who have been separated from their families. He says that signing an executive order does little to give him confidence in the Trump administration.
“Should we be confident in an administration that is morally bankrupt?” he asked.
Inslee’s funding announcement is one of several actions taking this week by Washington State leaders and politicians in response to this issue.
On Monday, Inslee and Attorney General Ferguson sent a searing letter to US Attorney General Jeff Sessions and DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen asking for information about the men and women held in the SeaTac Federal Detention Center and demanding that the Trump administration “stop lying about the family separation policy.” Then on Tuesday, Ferguson called on Washington residents to share their experiences resulting from the family separation policy.
Similarly, on Tuesday Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan joined a large group of former U.S. attorneys in sending a letter to Sessions calling for an end to the administration’s “zero-tolerance policy.” Also included in the letter is former U.S. Attorney for the western district of Washington, John McKay. The letter reads,
“As former U.S. Attorneys, we know that none of these consequences — nor the policy itself — is required by law. Rather, its implementation and its execution are taking place solely at your direction, and the unfolding tragedy falls squarely on your shoulders. It is time for you to announce that this policy was ill-conceived and that its consequences and cost are too drastic, too inhumane, and flatly inconsistent with the mission and values of the United States Department of Justice.”
Durkan also announced she is traveling to Tornillo, Texas on Wednesday with a bipartisan group of mayors to protest the family separations. The mayors will hold a press conference on Thursday morning.
U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal, who was the first member of Congress allowed to speak to some of the mothers whose children had been taken from them, has also participated in protest rallies and recently announced the national #FamiliesBelongTogether march to take place on June 30.
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