Community members in northwest Washington are gathering support for an immigrant resource center.

In September, Democrats in Whatcom County unanimously passed a resolution backing the establishment of an immigrant resource center in Bellingham. The campaign is coming in the lead-up to Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood's budget unveiling on Oct. 24.

Australia Tobon, a member of the Immigrant Advisory Board in Bellingham, said a physical space for people to gather is important for the community's large immigrant population.

"Our board has done research with community, with community input, regarding this idea that immigrants contribute in many different ways," Tobon explained. "Not just financial, but also culturally, and also disproportionately impacted by a lot of the stressors going on in our communities with the immigration system."

One in 10 residents of Whatcom County was born outside the U.S., which is about 24,000 people, but only about half are naturalized citizens, according to the Immigrant Resource Center proposal to the City of Bellingham.

The mayor of Bellingham did not respond by deadline on whether the immigrant resource center would be included in the city's budget.

Homero Jose, who lives in Ferndale, a small town north of Bellingham, said some people who come to the community do not speak English as a first language and the communication barrier can build a wall around people, but a resource center could provide assistance.

"To understand the process to get involved in the community, it gets more difficult," Jose pointed out. "Like simply get a driver's license, they don't know where to get it. They don't know someone that will translate for them unless they have a family or good friend that will go with them. Just basic needs that can make a big difference."

Tobon added the resource center is not just about providing services, but also helping people participate in civic life. She contended it is needed to build trust with immigrant communities.

"We do have a community that is fearful of speaking up and speaking out," Tobon asserted. "We've heard this through countless interviews and testimony and even board members who are now on the immigration advisory board, and we don't want to dismiss that."

Community members have shown support for a resource center in other ways, including folding 10,000 origami butterflies and displaying them around the city. The campaign was called "migration makes us stronger" and used butterflies to signify migration is natural.

As the immigration debate continues, many children of immigrants in Texas who are American citizens are caught in the middle.

An elementary school student in Cooke County reportedly committed suicide after being bullied at school with false threats ICE Agents were going to take her parents away.

Lorena Tule-Romain, cofounder and chief people officer at Imm Schools, participated in a panel on bullying offered by Children at Risk. She said school districts must recognize warning signs.

"Have protocols for 'How do I address these situations?'" Tule-Romain recommended. "And for educators and all supporting staff to be trained on 'What are the identifiers or behaviors that I can keep an eye out to ensure that all our students feel safe and welcome when they are in our care, in our campuses?'"

She pointed out school districts across the state are reporting increased absences among immigrant students. More than 2 million children in Texas have at least one immigrant parent.

Statistics show immigrant children face racist bullying more than their counterparts because of their accents, cultural differences or economic backgrounds.

Jaime Freeny with the Center for School Behavioral Health in Houston said parents play a role in how their children perceive and treat others.

"Oftentimes, students are picking up on the attitude and the beliefs and the stereotypes that they hear among their own parents and grandparents and family members," Freeny explained. "Then they bring that into the school environment. We know for all kids bullying has long-lasting effects on cognitive, emotional and academic development."

She added the current political climate means school districts must give staff the tools they need to respond.

"We have to provide schools a way to enforce zero tolerance policies that specifically address race, ethnicity, immigration status and language-based bullying," Freeny urged. "We have to teach students and educators how to stop it in the moment. What are the words that you can say to pivot the conversation so that it becomes one of celebration?"


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A year after the death of detainee Charles Leo Daniel, a 61-year-old Trinidadian migrant, legislators and human rights advocates continue pushing to close Tacoma's Northwest ICE Processing Center.

Daniel died in custody in March 2024 after four years in solitary confinement. The University of Washington Center for Human Rights has reported human rights violations at the center, including medical neglect and unsafe conditions.

Rufina Reyes, director of La Resistencia, a grassroots immigrants rights organization remaining in contact with detainees, said they report poor sanitation and lack of drinking water.

"They don't clean, they don't have people to work inside," Reyes reported. "It's really bad."

In response to multiple lawsuits involving the processing center, Washington state lawmakers are pushing for increased transparency. House Bill 1232 aims to enforce stricter standards and make inspection findings public. Lawmakers opposed to the new bill argued because the center is run by ICE, it is a federal facility and not under the control of the state.

The center is designed to hold people whose immigration cases are in progress. La Resistencia noted some people there have agreed to be deported yet are still being held. Reyes pointed out there have been five hunger strikes already this year, and three people have refused food for the past week.

"There's some people on hunger strike because they want to be released or they want to be deported," Reyes noted.

Reyes stressed more planes have been arriving at the processing center than usual this month, bringing migrants from Arizona, Texas and Nevada and believes the increased activity, along with the Trump administration's goal of mass deportations, is scary for migrant communities living in the area.

People are afraid to go to their routine immigration meetings, she added, fearing detention. The center's contract with GEO Group, which runs the facility, expires this year. Reyes urged public pressure on state legislators to prevent its renewal and close the facility.


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As the Trump administration continues to implement aggressive immigration policies, many Hispanic residents in Florida, a key voting bloc for Trump, are facing increased scrutiny and fear of deportation.

Eliseo Santana, a Puerto Rican veteran and civil servant with more than 30 years of service to his community, is among them. Santana serves as regional manager for the Alianza Center and recently spoke out against the current climate of discrimination and the demand for documentation targeting Hispanic individuals. He expressed his frustration and demanded respect from all levels of government.

"I insist that my rights as a citizen of the State of Florida be upheld," Santana emphasized. "And that our legislators respect and leave me alone and stop making laws that would empower people to discriminate against me, to select me because of my looks, just because I'm Hispanic."

The Trump administration's recent moves to tighten immigration from Venezuela and El Salvador have further heightened tensions within Hispanic communities. The policies are part of a broader strategy to curb immigration and have sparked widespread concern among Hispanic Americans, many of whom feel targeted based on their ethnicity.

Santana is a U.S. citizen by birth and stressed Puerto Ricans are often unfairly targeted despite their citizenship status.

"There are 21 nationalities that identify as Hispanic, and in the state of Florida," Santana pointed out. "Puertorriqueno are the number one and Puertorriqueno, Puerto Ricans, are U.S. citizens by birth. It is important for everyone to recognize that because someone looks Hispanic does not mean they're undocumented or they're a criminal."

The Trump administration's efforts to tighten immigration policies have hit Venezuelan immigrants in Florida especially hard, many of whom depend on Temporary Protected Status to live and work legally in the U.S.

Temporary Protected Status is a humanitarian program for individuals fleeing conflict or disaster and has been a lifeline for Venezuelans escaping their country's crisis. However, the administration's push to roll back Temporary Protected Status protections has left thousands in limbo, fueling outrage among immigrant advocates and Hispanic communities.


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