With Trump's immigration crackdown, Tacoma stands for justice
It's a very scary time for immigrants and refugees in this country. Across the nation, there is more scrutiny on immigrants. Actions at the federal level are obfuscating rules and guidelines for immigrants and refugees, which raises concerns in the immigrant community around travel and civil rights.
Tacoma residents experience this fear. Each of us has been pulled aside from a crowd and asked in a whisper whether individuals living in Tacoma are safe.
In Tacoma, we are doing our best within our legal authority to provide safe access to city services. Public safety comes in all shapes and forms. One of these forms is access to government services.
It is in our entire community's best interest if everyone feels safe interacting with the government. It should not be threatening to go to Tacoma Public Utilities and pay your water bill. We want people to feel safe calling 911 to report a car accident or seek medical help in an emergency. We want all residents to trust in the system enough to show up at court when necessary and have access to documents in languages they understand. Maintaining access to the systems that govern us is critical for those systems to operate with integrity and in service to our community.
It is also important that people have access to their jobs and the day-to-day places that a society relies upon. This is not just because every person deserves to be treated with dignity — which they do — but also because it also drives our economy forward.
According to a report from the Washington State Budget and Policy Center, immigrants are vital members of Washington state's bustling economy and vibrant community. Data from the Immigration Research Initiative shows that immigrant workers, which include green card holders, asylees, people with temporary protected status, and undocumented immigrants, play an outsized role in strengthening Washington's labor force and economy.
We hear every day the demand that elected officials lead on protecting our immigrant and refugee neighbors. Tacoma is acting.
The City Council passed Resolution 41627 to direct city resources be restricted from use for investigation and surveillance of individuals based on immigration or citizenship status without a court order. The city of Tacoma is in full compliance with the Keep Washington Working Act, which clarifies how local law enforcement engages with federal immigration law. We celebrate Pierce County's recent ordinance change to end the use of E-Verify, bringing it into alignment with Tacoma's practices.
We are doing what we can locally to make city services safe and accessible, and the work is ongoing. In America, everyone has the right to due process. Everyone has the right to peacefully protest. It is fundamental to our very democracy.
We champion sharing information about immigrant rights and the right to assemble. As council members, we keep abreast of court challenges to recent federal actions and how all the federal changes will have local impacts in Tacoma. Stand with us in preserving the safety of immigrants in Tacoma.
Olgy Diaz and Sandesh Sadalge are members of the Tacoma City Council. Diaz was appointed as an at-large member in 2022 and elected to a full term in 2023. Her parents immigrated from Guatemala, and she was born in Pierce County. Sadalge was appointed in 2024 to represent District 4. He immigrated from India at age 6 and became a U.S. citizen as an adult.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Says Working on Temporary Pass for Migrant Farm, Hotel Workers
President Trump said the administration is working on a "temporary pass" for migrant workers in certain industries, including farms and hotels. The comments come as the Trump administration continues its nationwide immigration sweep aimed at rounding up people who are in the U.S. without authorization.
Washington Post
35 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Senate rushes to pass Trump's tax bill, as cost tops $3 trillion
The Senate was plowing ahead on President Donald Trump's massive tax and immigration agenda Sunday as Republicans tried to swat away Democratic policy challenges and contend with its rising impact on the ballooning national debt. Trump's budget bill would extend tax cuts passed in 2017, enact campaign promises such as no tax on tips, spend hundreds of billions of dollars on immigration and defense and slash social benefit programs. The multitrillion-dollar legislation survived a brief GOP revolt Saturday night to allow the chamber to move forward with debate on the measure. Senators will likely work overnight to get the bill moving through the chamber. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said he hopes to pass the legislation as soon as Monday so it can be sent back to the House for final approval in time to beat Trump's self-imposed Independence Day deadline. The House passed a version of Trump's agenda in May. But the Congressional Budget Office, lawmakers' nonpartisan bookkeeper, reported Sunday that the measure would raise the national debt by $3.3 trillion over 10 years. That estimate does not include increased borrowing costs, which would be substantial because the measure, even with spending cuts, is largely deficit-financed. The legislation has also grown increasingly unpopular among voters. A Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted this month found Americans oppose the bill by an almost 2-to-1 margin, and 63 percent said the measure's debt impact was 'unacceptable.' The bill would extend expiring tax cuts from Trump's first term and include new deductions the White House hopes will spur economic growth. It includes a trio of Trump's populist campaign promises — no taxes on tips, overtime wages or auto loan interest — and adds $6,000 to the standard deduction for seniors. During the 2024 campaign, Trump pitched ending taxes on Social Security benefits, but the idea was not included in the bill. For the private sector, the legislation would give corporations larger deductions for research and development, depreciating assets and interest on large purchases. To offset the cost, Republicans have proposed steep cuts to Medicaid, the state and federal health insurance program for low-income individuals and disabled people, as well as SNAP, the anti-hunger Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program formerly known as food stamps. 'We don't pay people in this country to be lazy,' Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) said Sunday on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'We want to give them an opportunity, and when they're going through a hard time, we want to give them a helping hand. That's what Medicaid was designed for, and it's, unfortunately, it's been abused.' The largest budget cuts would come from provider taxes, which are duties that states charge medical providers as a roundabout way of collecting more federal Medicaid dollars. Some in the GOP wish to use that policy to force states to jettison some immigrants from benefits rolls, leaving other lawmakers concerned about the finances of rural hospitals, which rely heavily on Medicaid patients. That's become a sticking point among Republicans, both within the Senate and between senators and House members. The House's version of the bill was far less expensive and far less punitive on Medicaid. The Senate overhauled that legislation in ways that some House members now find unrecognizable, and the measure could have trouble securing support when it returns to the lower chamber. In the Senate, though, lawmakers who represent states that use provider taxes or have a large number of rural health care facilities have warned the provision is fatal to the success of the bill. 'Let's watch and be careful that we don't cut into bone, don't hurt our rural hospitals,' Sen. Jim Justice (R-West Virginia) said late last week. 'If we do that, it's going to be a bad day.' Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) voted with Democrats on Saturday night to block moving forward on the measure. Tillis announced Sunday that he would not seek reelection next year. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have expressed similar concerns, though they voted to clear the bill's procedural hurdle. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) is steadfastly opposed to the bill over deficit concerns, meaning the GOP can lose only two more votes to keep the measure afloat. If that happens, Vice President JD Vance would be forced to break the Senate's tie.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
An FAA alert suggests President Trump plans to visit Everglades detention center Tuesday
Is President Donald Trump coming to the so-called "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center Tuesday? The Federal Aviation Administration issued a "VIP Movement Notification" for Tuesday, July 1, for Ochopee, Fla. The alert is for a 30/10 NMR, which stands for a protective inner core radius of 10 nautical miles and an outer ring radius of 30 nautical miles. Those distances are reserved for the U.S. president. Ochopee is the site of Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport. It has been in the news for more than a week as the location of a planned immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades that has been dubbed Alligator Alcatraz. An attempt to seek confirmation form the White House on the president's travel plans this week was not successful. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@ Help support our journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAA notice suggests Trump to visit Everglades detention center
