Related read: “Spokane refugee organizations face another ‘challenging’ year under Trump immigration policies“
By Cassy Benefield | FāVS News Reporter
The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) wants to keep Washington “welcoming” for the 375,000 undocumented immigrants living in the state by encouraging supporters to show up for their 9th Annual Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Day (IRAD).
“Washington state has long been a national leader in standing up for all its residents, regardless of immigration status,” WAISN wrote in their 2026 Policy Platform Report.
Since the organization’s beginnings, WAISN has hosted these advocacy days in Olympia during each year’s legislative session.
The goal of WAISN’s policy agenda this session, which began on Jan. 12, is to advance immigrant justice legislation to protect “our communities from mass detentions and deportations” and to hold “government agencies accountable to Washington’s values as a welcoming state,” they wrote in their Policy report.
The top three priorities, which they will begin lobbying for today, are health equity for immigrants no matter their status, state funding for their Deportation Defense Hotline and advocacy for Deportation Defense Legislation focusing first on protecting personal data from Federal overreach.
Why Spokane nonprofits need this advocacy
For at least three nonprofits that work with refugees in Spokane, these policy priorities would help limit the Trump administration’s even more aggressive recent policy changes than the six immigration-related executive orders he signed in his first day of office.
The refugee minors Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW) in Spokane serves are experiencing more anxiety and fear about being apprehended and sent back to their country of origin, said Shelly Hahn, district director of LCSNW Spokane.
“Some youth have missed school out of fear, but our dedicated, highly trained staff continue to support them across all areas of life,” Hahn said. “All of our youth carry ‘Know your Rights cards’ with them along with needed paperwork, if they are contacted.”
These cards tell the youth what to say, how to proceed with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in their first language and who from LCSNW they are to contact 24/7 in an emergency.
“The strength and resilience that brought these young people here continues to shine through every day,” she added, despite the fear and uncertainty brought on by the federal government’s constantly changing immigration policies.
‘Spokane loves refugees’
Christi Armstrong, executive director of World Relief Spokane, said much of the “damage” to their organization on a local level happened through the executive orders of Trump’s first day in office. They cut her budget in half for the 2025 fiscal year, she said.
They had to lay off a quarter of their staff who they have not been able to rehire. They only resettled about 10 refugees before Trump took office.
They have changed their model from one of welcoming refugees to one of belonging as they walk alongside them. This has included beefing up their youth program to provide them with safe spaces and continuing to connect hundreds of local employers refugees to help them understand the workforce and secure jobs.
They do this with optimism, Armstrong said, by focusing on the clients they can still serve even without the federal money to do so. They are also grateful for their increased volunteer pool, which has filled in some of the gaps of the 15 employees they had to let go.
In their 2025 fiscal year, through locally raised funds, WR Spokane was able to provide over $41,000 in assistance to help cover their clients’ rent and food, and they helped 3,500 people, Armstrong said.
“Spokane loves refugees, loves World Relief,” she said.
The rhetoric she hears about refugees being sent back perplexes her, though.
“The rhetoric is, ‘We want these people to go back to their country,’” she said. “And I’m like, ‘Go back to what?’ Especially Ukraine. Go back to what? There’s, there’s nothing there.”
Focusing on stabilizing families
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) Spokane has also had to adjust their model of service to their refugee clients locally.
“Recent shifts in federal immigration policies have created significant uncertainty for many already vetted refugee families, with pauses, re-reviews, and sudden disruptions affecting their ability to safely rebuild their lives which risks fracturing communities across America,” said Kimberly Curry, community engagement manager for IRC Spokane.
While they were able to settle 127 refugees in their fiscal year before the suspension began on Jan. 20, 2025, they strengthened current programs and expanded others.
IRC Spokane has expanded its focus on family stability by partnering with faith groups to host weekly food distributions. This meets the needs caused by rising food insecurity. They’ve also broadened digital literacy education to ensure refugees have access to online resources and career advancement opportunities.
They have also increased legal assistance in response to the rapid policy changes and collaborated with academic and employer partners to increase mentorship opportunities for refugee youth and adults.
WAISN founded to meet Trump’s immigrant policy challenges
WAISN and the work they do — like on this annual Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Day — aims to keep these Spokane nonprofits and others like it across the state afloat and able to continue to meet the challenges their clients face.
Launched in 2016 by queer and transgender immigrants, WAISN was initiated as a “rapid-response effort” following Trump’s first term. They operate from the belief that they “do not serve communities, [they] are the communities,” according to their website.
As the largest immigrant justice network in Washington State, WAISN is still run by queer and trans immigrants, operating as a coalition of over 400 organizations and community groups distributed across all 39 counties.
‘From a ‘city model’ to ‘jungle model’ of operation’
Armstrong describes how WR Spokane and others like them operated pre-Trump immigration policy changes vs. post-Trump. Before Trump took office for his second term, she said they were operating in a “city model.”
“You know where there’s roads and there’s street lights and signs,” she said. “You know what to do, and you know how to do it, and you know where things are. And it’s not completely predictable, but it sure makes life a little easier.”
Now, with these past and recent changes, and with their federal funding gone, she calls their new way of operating the “jungle model.”
“The jungle doesn’t have roads and it doesn’t have homes. It’s a place where you go to develop something, but you’re not always even sure what you’re developing,” Armstrong continued, as she describes how staff must experiment and develop programs without being certain of the outcome.
Whether Washington immigrants with or without documents are walking in a “jungle” or a “city,” WAISN aims to assist them wherever they go through their advocacy work.
Today, Jan. 22, that work will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on their 9th Annual Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Day. They will host a formal march from downtown Olympia to the Capitol steps at 12:30 p.m., and this will be followed by a rally from 1:15 to 2:45 p.m.
From there, the estimated crowd of over 500 will continue on into legislators’ offices where decisions will be made on policies that will support, push back or remain neutral to Trump’s ever-evolving immigration policies.
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