I am vividly aware of how intertwined my personal journey is with the collective struggle of immigrant communities across Washington. When I entered the U.S. at age 14, my family migrated after witnessing violent situations including a kidnapping attempt and a shooting. As a young adolescent, my parents were detained and deported, preventing me from hugging them for 15 years. Now, as a transgender feminist advocate and executive director of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN), the largest immigrant-led coalition in Washington state, I witness daily how history repeats itself with brutal efficiency under a renewed deportation agenda, as well as the power of community solidarity to resist it.
The crisis unfolding in our communities
The reality facing undocumented families in King County is stark and increasingly dangerous. Washington is home to approximately 234,000 undocumented parents, 17,000 of whom reside with at least one non-U.S. citizen child. These families now live in constant fear, with children afraid to go to school, parents afraid to seek medical care, and entire communities retreating into the shadows.
Since President Trump’s inauguration, WAISN has received a threefold increase in calls to our Deportation Defense Hotline. Families contact us in crisis, reporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at their doors and loved ones disappeared into detention facilities. The executive orders authorizing “expedited removal” of immigrants and permitting arrests in previously protected spaces like churches and schools have shattered what little security our communities had managed to build.
It’s critical to understand what children in immigrant families are experiencing. Children of all ages are exhibiting symptoms of severe trauma: nightmares, anxiety, and withdrawal from social activities. Some are taking on adult responsibilities, such as acting as translators and navigators for their families through complex legal systems and even developing contingency plans for who will care for them if their parents disappear. Children cannot learn or thrive when they’re consumed by fear for their family’s survival.
I recently spoke with a mother of three in King County whose husband was detained during a workplace detention. Her youngest child, just five years old, now refuses to let her leave for work, clinging to her legs and crying that “the bad people might take you too.”
This is not simply an immigration enforcement strategy — it is a systematic assault on human dignity. We must forcefully reject any narrative that frames migration as invasion and immigrants as criminals. Instead, we must recognize and uplift our truth that migration is a human right and immigrants are bearers of knowledge, resilience, and community wisdom.
A call to action for Seattle parents
At WAISN, we are responding to this crisis through collective care and community power. Our Deportation Defense Hotline provides emergency support, legal referrals, and rapid response coordination when ICE is conducting operations, and our Fair Fight Bond Fund assists Washington immigrants in detention. Perhaps most importantly, we are creating spaces of mutual aid and solidarity where immigrant communities can gather in safety, share resources, and build collective power.
I invite you to consider how you might stand in solidarity with immigrant families in your community. Here are concrete ways to help:
- Talk to your children: Help them understand what their immigrant peers might be experiencing and how to be supportive friends.
- Advocate for stronger state policies: Contact your representatives to support the Keep Washington Working Act and other legislation that protects immigrant communities.
- Join our rapid response networks: Community witnesses provide crucial support to families during immigration enforcement actions.
- Attend our upcoming Know Your Rights with ICE virtual training on Thursday, May 8, at 6–8 p.m. and consider hosting a watch party. Register at shorturl.at/QCl7j
- Support WAISN’s work financially: Our Deportation Defense Hotline and Fair Fight Bond Fund operate entirely on donations. Even small monthly contributions sustain these vital services.
- Contact WAISN to report immigration activity Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. through the WAISN Deportation Defense at 1-844-
724-3737.
Our work is about creating a courageous, nurturing world where families can remain together in dignity, and where all children can grow
up without fear. Join us in making that vision real.
This article is an opinion piece (Op-Ed) and reflects the views of the author. We encourage thoughtful debate and welcome a range of viewpoints. Readers who wish to submit their own Op-Ed for consideration can do so by emailing editor@seattleschild.com.
