(The Center Square) – Several proposals intended to pose barriers to federal immigration enforcement received hearings on Tuesday after Gov. Bob Ferguson urged support for a related mask ban last week.
Ferguson didn’t include any immigration-related proposals in his six requests for 2025, but has voiced support for bills aimed at blocking President Donald Trump’s agenda. Democrats argue that they would address concerns in the immigrant community, while some Republicans say the bills undermine Trump.
If approved, some bills are likely to face legal challenges from the Trump administration, which often goes to court against states amid resistance to federal immigration enforcement. A few proposals also address privacy concerns, earning some bipartisan nods, but concerns remain among the minority party.
Senate Bill 5852 — Immigrant Worker Protection Act
More than a dozen Democrats proposed Senate Bill 5852 at the request of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. If approved, it would require employers to notify employees, including former employees from the last three years, by mail, after the federal government requests their information.
“The I-9 process is there to make sure that our employees and our workers are eligible and legal,” one citizen, Christian Bianes-Delrosario, testified Tuesday. “Advanced notice of an I-9 inspection … gives a clear opportunity for those who are illegally or ineligible to work here … to evade lawful enforcement.”
Dubbed the “Immigrant Worker Protection Act,” the bill would also prohibit employers from allowing a federal agency to access worker records without a subpoena or warrant. House Democrats proposed a companion bill, scheduled for executive action this Thursday, which increases its chances of passing.
The goal is to provide a heads-up before potential immigration raids; however, the bills impose costly mandates that require employers to track down former employees. If they fail to do so, the employer could face lawsuits and fines based on their willingness to comply and how many people they employ.
Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, asked AGO staff present at the hearing how many I-9 audits have led to immigration enforcement, to which they confirmed only two. The Washington Association of Counties, the Washington Hospitality Association, and others testified in opposition, citing the costly mandates.
“We’ve witnessed firsthand in Washington, workplace raids associated with I-9 audits,” Mark Bowers, an attorney for Columbia Legal Service, testified Tuesday. “That fear does not stop at the workplace.”
The League of Women Voters of Washington testified with the AGO and civil rights groups in support.
About 1,340 people signed in to state their position virtually ahead of the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee’s public hearing on Tuesday, with 922 in support, six listed as other, and 413 in opposition.
Senate Bill 5906 — Banning ICE from “nonpublic” spaces
Several Democrats also proposed Senate Bill 5906 as another barrier to federal immigration raids. The proposal would require schools, daycares, health care facilities, universities, and election offices to list certain areas as “nonpublic” to prevent federal agents from entering without a warrant or court order.
“This legislation does not prohibit federal immigration enforcement,” Giovanni Severino argued Tuesday on behalf of the Latino Community Fund in Yakima. “Instead, it sets reasonable and constitutionally grounded standards for how and where civil immigration enforcement may occur.”
The Spokane City Council passed a similar measure last year to prevent federal agents from entering community events without a warrant. SB 5906 also prohibits schools and daycares from collecting the immigration status of the children present and their families, building on the state’s “sanctuary” law.
The Keep Washington Working Act already prohibits state and local law enforcement from collecting immigration statuses in most cases. SB 5906 essentially expands that law to include other industries while offering another way to prevent agents from entering without a warrant, as SB 5852 suggests.
“Does this basically apply Keep Washington Working [Act] to K-12?” Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, asked during the public hearing on Tuesday, to which staff counsel Maya Itah responded, “Keep Washington Working is a very complicated and wide-reaching act; I don’t know that I can answer that question.”
Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, said she hasn’t seen federal agents raiding schools or daycares and asked for examples, to which one person cited an instance of a parent being arrested at an Issaquah school.
Nearly 6,000 people signed in to the Senate Law & Justice Committee’s hearing on Tuesday, with more than 3,700 in support of SB 5905, 25 listed as other and about 2,150 against the nonpublic spaces bill.
No one testified against SB 5906 in person at the Capitol on Tuesday, despite online opposition.
Senate Bill 6002 & House Bill 2332 – ALPR/FLOCK Cameras
Senate Bill 6002 and its companion, House Bill 2332, are proposed fixes to privacy concerns about the use of automated license plate recognition, or ALPR. Commonly referred to as Flock cameras after the company Flock Safety, ALPR cameras capture license plates and add them to a nationwide database.
“Local law enforcement agencies are strapped for resources, and using technology that’s an efficient use of taxpayer dollars to help solve crimes is what we need,” Candice Bach, government relations director for the Association of Washington Cities, testified Tuesday.
Law enforcement agencies around the country now use the tools to track missing people and vehicles, but reporting shows officers have also used them to track former girlfriends. The Trump administration has also used the cameras to track people across the country to coordinate immigration enforcement.
These proposals prohibit the use of ALPR cameras around immigration facilities and prohibit state and local law enforcement from using ALPR data to assist immigration enforcement. Several agencies have already turned off the nationwide search tool, and 16 other states currently regulate the use of ALPR.
The proposals also limit data retention to 72 hours, whereas standard practice typically sets it at 30 days.
Several law enforcement leaders testified as “other”, calling for amendments to allow longer retention.
“This is not a partisan issue. This is not a police issue. This is being a private citizen of the state of Washington issue,” Holy said on Tuesday. “Are we seriously going to argue that people don’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy when it comes to every single movement being tracked?”
The Republican with decades of law enforcement experience said the bills don’t address immigration beyond reiterating the Keep Washington Working Act. Holy isn’t a “big proponent” of that, but is happy SB 6002 addresses privacy concerns and doesn’t expand the KWWA as some of the other bills suggest.
SB 6002 and HB 2332 both received hearings from the Senate Law & Justice and House Civil Rights & Judiciary committees. Nearly 2,500 people signed in for the Senate hearing, with 1,870 in support of SB 6002, 18 listed as other, and 314 against the APLR regulations. Just under 2,100 people signed in for the House hearing, with 1,870 in support, 16 listed as other, and 313 against the companion bill.
Other proposals impacting immigration enforcement
Senate Bill 6080 is another one that could impact immigration enforcement, as it prohibits cities and counties from holding federal detainees in their jails if the person was transported across state lines.
SB 6080 is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday in the Senate Human Services Committee.
Most of the conversation so far this session has been around Senate Bill 5855, which would prohibit local, state and federal law enforcement from wearing masks when interacting with the public. The Senate Law & Justice Committee held a public hearing last Thursday before advancing it on Friday.
The mask ban will likely reach the Senate floor for a vote in the coming weeks before a House vote.
“This conduct will undoubtedly be remembered as a shameful period in our nation’s history,” Ferguson told lawmakers last week. “Get that legislation to my desk immediately so I can sign that into law.”
