County Government stands up up for your safety and civil rights
Most recently, the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officials in Minnesota have prompted many questions about immigration enforcement in Washington State and Pierce County.
At the County level, Pierce county government took action last to:
- create new protocols for County employees when ICE or other federal officials come to our offices,
- place signage in all our buildings to make clear which areas can’t be accessed by non-employees without a judicial warrant, and
- Affirm our commitment to the state’s Keep Washington Working (KWW) law and ensure employees are trained on it. Among other things, KWW prohibits local courts and law enforcement from detaining people for immigration enforcement or gathering and sharing immigration-related data.
Other current actions include funding for organizations and services that support refugee and immigrant families, litigation to block the Trump Administration from forcing us to sign grant agreements for essential public services with coercive terms and conditions, and sharing resources such as “Know Your Rights training.
More work is underway in collaboration with government and community leaders all across our County. “I’m committed to doing everything within our power to protect the safety, civil rights and due process of every resident, regardless of their immigration status, gender identity, political views, ethnicity, religion or disability,” said Ryan Mello, County Executive.
Trump is creating fear and causing harm to our neighbors. “I know many of you are experiencing those harms directly or are involved in efforts to help those who are,” said Ryan Mello.
Information for this story came from the Pierce County Executive Director. To give you hope in these troubled times, the Coalition finds news each month about how our governments, and county residents are reversing the Trump Administration’s actions.
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