This page is information, not legal advice. Washington's Keep Washington Working Act (KWW, 2019) prohibits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal civil immigration enforcement. No Washington agency has a 287(g) agreement. The Courts Open to All Act (COTA, 2020) protects people at courthouses. A 2026 SAFE Act bill sought to extend protections to schools, hospitals, and childcare facilities - verify its status. Despite these protections, ICE has documented violations: federal agents queried Washington's Department of Licensing driver database for civil immigration enforcement, leading to arrests including a Kirkland man with no criminal record. The DOC notifies ICE when releasing people with detainers - a specific exemption in KWW. Flock Safety automated license plate readers at retailers share data with law enforcement that Border Patrol can access. Governor Ferguson held firm against a DOJ threat letter in August 2025. Verify current conditions with WAISN or NWIRP.
Washington State's Keep Washington Working Act, passed bipartisan in 2019, is one of the most comprehensive state-level immigration enforcement limitation laws in the country. It prohibits state and local agencies from using government funds, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to assist federal immigration enforcement. No state or local agency in Washington has a 287(g) agreement with ICE. The Washington Attorney General has published model policies for law enforcement, courthouses, health facilities, and schools.
These protections are real and have been defended aggressively. When U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent Governor Bob Ferguson a letter on August 13, 2025 threatening criminal prosecution of state officials and demanding Washington eliminate its sanctuary policies within six days, Governor Ferguson responded: 'Washington State will not be bullied or intimidated by threats and legally baseless accusations. I am not intimidated by you or the President. I will defend our democracy, the rule of law, and the people of my state. Always.' The KWW remains in effect.
Washington's protections have real gaps. The University of Washington Center for Human Rights documented that ICE accessed Washington's Department of Licensing driver database for civil immigration enforcement purposes - a direct violation of KWW and DOL policy - and that those queries led to arrests. Flock Safety automated license plate readers installed at major retailers including Home Depot and Lowe's share data with law enforcement, and Border Patrol can access that data, creating what advocates have called a surveillance-to-deportation pipeline documented in Yakima. The Department of Corrections notifies ICE when releasing people with immigration detainers - a specific carve-out in KWW that Governor Ferguson and the attorney general have defended. ICE operates independently throughout Washington regardless of local cooperation levels.
Part 1: Your rights under federal law - everywhere, including Washington
These rights come from the U.S. Constitution. They apply in Washington regardless of immigration status, citizenship, or how you entered the country.
At your front door
The Fourth Amendment protects your home from government entry without your consent or a judicial warrant. A judicial warrant is signed by a federal judge, based on probable cause, and authorizes entry to a specific address. An administrative warrant - ICE Form I-200 or I-205 - is signed by an immigration officer, not a judge, and does not authorize entry to your home without your consent. Ask through the door which type of warrant is being presented. If it is administrative, you are not required to open the door.
During a traffic stop or street encounter
You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born, your immigration history, or your status. You can say you are exercising your right to remain silent and want to speak to a lawyer. You can ask whether you are free to go. If the officer says yes, you may calmly leave.
Washington local law enforcement and state agencies have not signed 287(g) agreements. A routine traffic stop by Washington State Patrol or local police is not a federal immigration enforcement encounter under KWW. However, ICE and Border Patrol can conduct independent operations anywhere in the state.
At courthouses - Courts Open to All Act
Washington's Courts Open to All Act (COTA, 2020) prohibits civil immigration enforcement at Washington state courthouses. This means ICE cannot conduct civil immigration arrests at Washington state court facilities. People attending court hearings, filing documents, or appearing as witnesses are protected from civil immigration arrest at courthouse locations under state law.
At sensitive locations - SAFE Act
A 2026 SAFE Act bill proposed extending and codifying the Attorney General's model policies for schools, hospitals, childcare facilities, higher education institutions, and election offices. Verify the SAFE Act's final passage and provisions with current sources - as of the time of this research, the bill was in the legislative pipeline.
Do not sign anything without a lawyer
Documents presented during an ICE arrest may include voluntary departure agreements or stipulated removal orders that waive your right to a hearing before an immigration judge. Do not sign anything without speaking to an attorney first.
Part 2: The Keep Washington Working Act - what it does
The Keep Washington Working Act prohibits state and local law enforcement from inquiring into immigration status, enforcing federal immigration laws, or using any state or local resources to assist federal immigration enforcement. Agencies must publish written policies explaining how they interact with federal immigration authorities. The law applies to law enforcement, health facilities, schools, and other agencies.
Washington state law enforcement agencies are not permitted to honor civil ICE detainers - requests to hold someone in jail beyond their release date so ICE can pick them up. Civil detainers are administrative requests, not judicial warrants. Under KWW, Washington agencies do not hold people on civil detainers without a court order.
AG Bondi's August 2025 letter claimed KWW violates federal law. Washington's attorney general Nick Brown maintained the law is constitutional under the Tenth Amendment's anti-commandeering doctrine: the federal government cannot compel states to use their own resources for federal enforcement. This is settled constitutional law established in Printz v. United States (1997) and affirmed in subsequent cases. Washington's position is legally sound; the law remains in effect.
Part 3: The DOL database violation and the surveillance gap
The University of Washington Center for Human Rights documented that ICE and Border Patrol agents queried Washington's Department of Licensing driver and vehicle database through a federal information-sharing network (Nlets/ACCESS) for purposes of civil immigration enforcement - a direct violation of KWW and DOL policy. The DOL explicitly bars its database from being used for civil immigration enforcement. These unauthorized queries led to arrests, including the documented arrest of a Kirkland man with no criminal record in May 2025.
KING 5 reported that after Trump's November 2024 election, federal access to Washington's driver and vehicle database surged by 188%. ICE database queries tripled from about 540 searches in November 2024 to more than 1,600 by May 2025. These queries are conducted through a federal information-sharing network that can access state databases - a technical workaround to KWW's protections that state law prohibits but has been difficult to stop.
UWCHR noted a key weakness in KWW: unlike Oregon's law, KWW does not task any specific agency with monitoring or responding to violations. This enforcement gap has allowed federal agencies to conduct prohibited database queries without immediate accountability.
Flock Safety - the license plate surveillance pipeline
Major retailers including Home Depot and Lowe's use Flock Safety automated license plate reader systems. These systems capture every passing vehicle and store data in a centralized database. Law enforcement can access this data - and Border Patrol has been documented accessing Flock Safety data in Washington. An October 2025 UWCHR report documented that Yakima was among Washington agencies sharing Flock Safety data with Border Patrol throughout 2025. UWCHR has described this as a 'surveillance-to-deportation pipeline' operating in communities like Yakima - where ICE and Border Patrol presence is significant - even where local law enforcement does not cooperate with federal agents under KWW.
Courthouse enforcement in Yakima
Despite COTA's courthouse protection, immigration attorneys in Yakima have documented cases where ICE appeared to have advance knowledge of defendants' courthouse appearances, raising concerns that someone in the court system may be cooperating with ICE - possibly through Flock Safety data rather than direct human cooperation. In at least one documented case, a legal migrant with a pending asylum claim was deported before his misdemeanor case concluded after being detained outside a courthouse.
Part 4: The DOC exemption - the prison release gap
The Keep Washington Working Act contains a specific carve-out for the Washington Department of Corrections. Under this exemption, Washington prisons notify ICE when releasing people with immigration detainers. Governor Ferguson and Attorney General Brown have both defended this exemption as consistent with KWW's intent, describing it as a 'thoughtful' balance struck by the 2019 Legislature.
In 2025, ICE picked up 51 of the 61 people leaving Washington prisons with immigration detainers - the highest pickup rate in a decade. The number of prisoners exiting with ICE detainers has dropped from over 300 in 2015 to around 61 in 2025, but those who do have detainers are almost certain to be detained by ICE upon release. If someone you know is finishing a sentence in a Washington state prison and has an immigration detainer, contact an immigration attorney well before their release date.
Part 5: Northwest Detention Center - Tacoma
The Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma is the primary ICE detention facility serving Washington State and the broader Pacific Northwest, including detainees from Oregon, Alaska, and Idaho. It is operated by the GEO Group and is one of the larger immigration detention facilities in the western United States. People detained by ICE throughout Washington are typically transported to NWDC. The facility has been the site of hunger strikes and ongoing oversight concerns documented by immigrant advocates.
To locate someone detained at NWDC or elsewhere, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov. The facility address is 1623 East J Street, Tacoma, Washington 98421. For detained individuals in Washington, NWIRP (Northwest Immigrant Rights Project) provides the most direct legal services access.
Part 6: What to do right now, before anything happens
Know your A-number and make sure trusted family members have it written down. If someone is detained in Washington, they are most likely being taken to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.
Know that Washington local police and state agencies do not have 287(g) agreements and will not conduct immigration enforcement during routine encounters under KWW. A traffic stop by Washington State Patrol or Seattle police is not an immigration enforcement encounter.
Know that ICE has accessed Washington's DOL driver database in violation of KWW. This means that having a Washington driver's license does not mean your information is protected from federal immigration agents. UWCHR documented this in detail and it has resulted in arrests.
Know that Flock Safety license plate readers at retailers share data that Border Patrol can access. In Yakima and other agricultural communities, this has created enforcement vulnerability even where local law enforcement does not cooperate with federal agents.
Know the courthouse protection: COTA prohibits civil immigration arrests at Washington state courthouses. This protection is real, though ICE has attempted to circumvent it through nearby surveillance. If you must appear in court, contact NWIRP or an immigration attorney first.
If someone you know is finishing a prison sentence and has an immigration detainer, contact an immigration attorney well before their release date. The DOC-ICE notification pipeline means ICE will almost certainly be waiting.
Sign up for WAISN's rapid response alert network. The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network coordinates community enforcement alerts across the state.
Part 7: Legal help and resources in Washington
WAISN (Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network) coordinates the statewide rapid response network for immigration enforcement alerts and provides community-level know-your-rights resources. Their website is waisn.org.
NWIRP (Northwest Immigrant Rights Project) is the primary immigration legal services organization for detained individuals in Washington and provides know-your-rights resources in multiple languages. For detained individuals at NWDC, NWIRP is the first call. Their website is nwirp.org.
University of Washington Center for Human Rights (UWCHR) has published the most detailed documentation of KWW violations, DOL database access, and Flock Safety surveillance in Washington. Their reports at jsis.washington.edu/humanrights are essential reading for understanding the surveillance gaps in Washington's protections.
The Washington Attorney General's office publishes KWW guidance and model policies at atg.wa.gov/immigrationguidance.
For immigration court case information, call the EOIR automated line at 1-800-898-7180. To locate someone in ICE custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov. Washington detainees are typically at the Northwest Detention Center, 1623 East J Street, Tacoma, WA 98421. Call the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024 if your person does not appear in the locator.
Immigration Advocates Network lists Washington legal providers at immigrationadvocates.org.
Washington's Keep Washington Working Act is one of the strongest state-level immigration enforcement limitation laws in the country. No Washington agency has a 287(g) agreement. The Courts Open to All Act protects courthouse access. Governor Ferguson held firm against a federal threat letter demanding Washington dismantle its sanctuary protections. And yet: federal agents have accessed Washington's driver license database in violation of KWW and made arrests from those illegal queries. Flock Safety license plate readers at retailers feed data to Border Patrol in communities like Yakima. The DOC notifies ICE when releasing people with detainers. ICE operates independently throughout the state. Your federal constitutional rights apply in full: an administrative warrant does not authorize entry to your home, your right to remain silent is unchanged, and you cannot be compelled to sign anything without a lawyer. Connecting with WAISN and NWIRP before a crisis, understanding the surveillance gaps in Washington's protections, and staying current on the DOL database situation are the foundations for protecting your family in Washington State.
This page reflects conditions as of mid-2026. Keep Washington Working Act enacted 2019, still in effect. Courts Open to All Act enacted 2020, still in effect. DOL database violation documented by UWCHR January 2026 report. Governor Ferguson's response to DOJ threat letter issued August 2025. SAFE Act for schools, hospitals, and childcare - verify current status. Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma remains the primary regional ICE detention facility. Verify current conditions with WAISN or NWIRP.