WA Gov. Bob Ferguson signs executive order in preparation for potential ‘mass deportations’
Gov. Bob Ferguson said President Donald Trump’s immigration policies will “destabilize families” and harm children.
Author: Helen Smith
Published: 12:16 PM PST January 27, 2025
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SEATTLE — Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson is preparing for potential family separations amid the fallout of President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration enforcement.
Ferguson signed an executive order on Monday that creates a rapid response team intended to support children who are separated from their parents or caregivers, should they be detained or deported.
Trump promised to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history.” Over the weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) touted arrests of immigrants around the country, including multiple in Washington.
At a press conference, Ferguson announced that the new rapid response team is comprised of professionals within the Department of Children, Youth and Family Services, the Washington State Patrol, the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, the Attorney General’s Office and members of the Governor’s Office. They will develop policies aimed at supporting children whose parents or caregivers are deported or detained by ICE.
Ferguson outlined priorities for the new team, including:
- Review agency policies and procedures to identify any changes that can assist in responding to the separation of families. This includes situations where a large number of children in the same geographic area may be separated from their parents or caregivers at the same time.
- Identify policies or procedures that may help support children of deported or detained parents and lessen, to the extent possible, the lasting impacts resulting from such separation, in consultation with immigration and child welfare experts.
- Meet with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and local school districts to develop strategies for mitigating disruption to the education and development of children whose parents are deported or detained.
- Create proactive lines of communication between DCYF, OSPI and local school districts to permit quick and responsive action when prompt cooperation is needed to support the child, including if a child’s parents are taken for deportation or detention while the child is at school.
- Work with state universities, colleges, community colleges and Running Start to ensure and support robust pathways to higher education for children who experience the trauma of having their parents or primary caregivers deported or detained.
While he signed Executive Order 25-04, Ferguson made it clear the impact that Trump’s call for ‘mass deportations’ would have on Washington.
“It means ripping families apart, kids losing their parents, it means business losing workers, it means communities being significantly altered,” Ferguson said.
That fear is something Dora Poqui lives with daily.
“[We] started hearing about mass deportations, and the anxiety’s kicked in and I looked at my husband and I’m like, wow, what’s going to happen?” Poqui said.
Poqui said her biggest fear is her husband, who is undocumented, getting pulled over.
“He gets up to go to work, I might not see him again, they’re going to lock him up,” Poqui said. “We tried and tried to get him documented, but the hurdles of being an immigrant and applying — it’s difficult they make it so hard for the Hispanics and Latinos coming into the United States.”
In the meantime, advocacy leaders are telling people: know your rights.
“A lot of people think that because they don’t have immigration status they may not have legal rights, and under the constitution of this country, you have legal rights,” Executive Director of OneAmerica Roxana Norouzi said. “And so we’re making sure our communities know that.”
You can find more information about Know Your Rights trainings here.
You can reach the WA Immigrant Solidarity Network’s Deportation Hotline at 1-844-724-3737. For more information visit the Solidarity Network’s website.