Tag Archives: Deportation

Voices

OPINION | King County, Port of Seattle Must Demand Humane Conditions for ICE Deportation Flights

by Angelina Snodgrass Godoy

On Tuesday, May 2, ICE resumed its deportation flights out of King County’s Boeing Field. This is the shameful result of a federal judge’s ruling last month that despite known abuses on deportation flights, the County is not allowed to decline to participate in them, as it did when Dow Constantine issued an executive order in May 2019. (Since that time, deportation flights have been routed through Yakima.)

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News

Community Shows Support as Local Activist Petitions for Pardon to Avoid Deportation

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by Elizabeth Turnbull

Close to three decades after Oloth Insyxiengmay was incarcerated as a teenager, he has established himself as a youth advocate, while also fighting against the threat of his own deportation. 

On Friday, Sept. 10, Insyxiengmay went in front of the Washington State Clemency and Pardons Board to petition for a pardon of his criminal convictions in order to diminish the risk of an order of deportation. Ultimately, the board voted against recommending that Gov. Jay Inslee pardon Insyxiengmay.

Prior to Friday’s hearing, over 60 individuals wrote letters in support of Insyxiengmay and over 350 people, including members of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, joined a Zoom call on Thursday, Sept. 9, to advocate for his pardon.

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News

New State Drug Laws May End Some Deportation Proceedings, But Risks Remain

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by Paul Kiefer

(This article originally appeared on PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement.)

When the Washington State Supreme Court ruled in February that the State’s harsh drug possession laws were unconstitutional, most lawmakers, prosecutors and defense attorneys hurried to prepare for the ruling’s vast consequences for the state’s court system and the tens of thousands of people whose convictions for drug possession are now baseless.

Among those impacted by the ruling, State of Washington v. Blake, are immigrants convicted for simple drug possession under Washington’s pre-Blake drug laws. Some are currently facing deportation because of a drug possession conviction; others have already been deported.

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Community

Khmer Organizer Many Uch Becomes U.S. Citizen After Two-Decade Journey

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by Bunthay Cheam

In 1997, Many Uch first walked into what was the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) building in the International District after being transferred directly from the Department of Corrections (DOC) custody after serving a three-year prison sentence. He faced an indefinite detention in an INS facility. 

On Friday, Jan. 22, Uch walked out of the Department of Homeland Security building in Tukwila, WA to the applause of a dozen supporters and organizers. This time, with a Certificate of Citizenship in hand after being sworn-in as a naturalized citizen.

“This is one of the three achievements in my life that I’m proud of,” Uch said upon his release.  

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Social Justice

Maru Mora-Villalpando in her own words

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by Reagan Jackson

(This article was originally published on The Seattle Globalist and has been reprinted with permission)

Outspoken. Courageous. Humble. Brilliant. Unyielding. Controversial. Undocumented.

Many words have been used to describe Maru Mora-Villalpando, the 2018 Globalist of the Year, but when I ask her how she would describe herself, she said simply as a single mom and a community organizer.

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