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Immigrant families in Seattle seek sanctuary and safety as ICE threat looms

caption: Gov. Ferguson spoke to the community at El Centro de la Raza Monday Jan. 27th before he signed one of the first executive orders of his term. 

The executive order was for children that could be potentially impacted by federal immigration enforcement, deporting their parents.
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Gov. Ferguson spoke to the community at El Centro de la Raza Monday Jan. 27th before he signed one of the first executive orders of his term. The executive order was for children that could be potentially impacted by federal immigration enforcement, deporting their parents.
Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez

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side from the occasional kids playing at the nearby day care center, It’s been quieter than usual outside El Centro de la Raza, a Latino and immigrant community hub in Seattle. The sidewalks are mostly empty, only occupied by people not stopping to talk, as a man walks his daughter home from day care, along with his partner.

They don’t have legal permission to live in the U.S. and agreed to speak with KUOW anonymously.

“We are scared,” he said.

Lea esta historia en español: Familias de inmigrantes en Seattle se preparan ante la amenazadora llegada de ICE

“I was closed up in the house all day for fear that they would grab us, and I didn’t leave until I came to pick her up,” he said, gesturing to his partner and their child.

He keeps an eye out for his daughter as she runs around the plaza with a bag of snacks in her hand. There are rumors of ICE being just a 10-minute drive away.

“We need to be aware and attentive with immigration officials,” the man said. “There’s no room to get distracted.”

Schools and churches are among the list of places no longer off limits for immigration officials in their search for undocumented people to deport.

A day into his administration, President Donald Trump reversed a long-standing policy that prohibited immigration arrests near so-called “sensitive locations."

Since Trump took office Jan. 20, enforcement has ramped up across the country. While the state of Washington is still a sanctuary for many, some immigrants are reconsidering how they navigate their daily lives.

RELATED: Trump's immigration orders are a blueprint for sweeping policy changes

The man and his partner aren’t driving anymore, finding other ways to get around town. If they were to go anymore underground, they’d be stuck not going to work, said his partner.

“If we leave work, well, the owners of the apartments or homes will have to kick us out,” she said. Bills still need to be paid, their child still needs to go to school.

Before they head out on their errands, they’re checking their phones, scanning social media about where people might have seen immigration officials. They’re both worried about what will happen if they’re separated from their daughter.

In front of them is the double-door entrance to El Centro de la Raza.

Two banners hang above the entryway, saying in English it’s a sensitive location for the purposes of immigration enforcement. The other banner says it’s a protected place in Spanish.

Previous federal policy directed ICE agents to avoid arrests in sensitive locations like this center, which is a short walk from the day care. But now schools and other places children gather are no longer off-limits.

President Trump rescinded that directive in the days after taking office.

RELATED: Washington farmworkers call for better work conditions amid Trump deportation threats

“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murders and rapists—who have illegally come into our country,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security.

“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”

caption: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump salutes in Aurora, Colo., on Oct. 11. At that rally and others, he spoke of using a centuries-old act to expedite deportation of certain undocumented migrants.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump salutes in Aurora, Colo., on Oct. 11. At that rally and others, he spoke of using a centuries-old act to expedite deportation of certain undocumented migrants.
AP

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson took aim at that policy change.

“It means kids losing their parents. It means businesses losing their workers. It means communities being significantly altered,” Ferguson said ahead of signing an executive order this week. It would direct the state to create a response team to help kids whose parents get deported.

“That's making sure that kids who are torn away and separated from their parents have someone to care for them, and they have uninterrupted access to their education,” he said.

While Ferguson’s executive order attempts to limit harm to children when their parents are arrested and deported, community groups emphasize that they really need legal help for people who could get detained.

Churches are another place no longer off limits for ICE arrests.

Dozens of migrants seeking asylum have been staying at Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila. As policy shifts quickly in the Trump administration, they’re facing some new questions.

Most of them have been let into the U.S. to apply for asylum, and given a court date to meet with an immigration judge. It’s part of a process called being paroled into the country.

Trump has long critiqued that practice, and recently ended humanitarian parole for some groups of migrants, but so far, asylum seekers are still protected.

RELATED: Seattle judge temporarily blocks Trump executive order on birthright citizenship

Pastor Jan Bolerjack leads the community here, and she wants it to stay that way.

“They've done what they're supposed to do, and we hope that the government stands behind what has been promised to these folks, which is a court date at the end of their time of parole,” Bolerjack said. “We’re hoping the government holds up to that.”

She says if anything changes, and immigration were to come to their doors, she’d ask them to leave, unless they can show a warrant signed by a judge.

Two years ago, the church saw more and more people arriving at their doors looking for asylum. Some pitched tents outside the church while they waited for their court date. Their numbers surged to the hundreds.

caption: Tents are shown outside of Riverton Park United Methodist Church where nearly 200 people are sheltering while seeking asylum, on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, in Tukwila.
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Tents are shown outside of Riverton Park United Methodist Church where nearly 200 people are sheltering while seeking asylum, on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, in Tukwila.
KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer

Out of that need for legal, and housing support, sprung a statewide program to assist immigrants as they navigate court cases, a statewide program which Bolerjack is now a part of.

“I think it's important for us to remember our history as a nation and that we are a nation of immigrants, and this hateful language that's going on now is not who we are and not who we should be,” she said.

The way the church works now is a long way from where it once started.

The encampment that was once on the front lawn is gone. And they’ve beefed up security too, with a yappy dog. Any new visitors now have to register at the front desk.

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