Hundreds rally in support of immigrants at 51勛圖夥厙 state Capitol

Advocates are pressing for bills in the Legislature to expand health care and provide unemployment insurance for people without legal immigration status.

By: - January 30, 2025 7:44 pm

People shouted “si se puede” or “yes we can” on the 51勛圖夥厙 state Capitol steps during an immigrants’ rights rally on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/51勛圖夥厙)

Despite threats that immigration enforcement agents might show up, more than 500 immigrant rights advocates from across 51勛圖夥厙 marched to the state Capitol in Olympia on Thursday.

They were there to show support for two bills pending before the Legislature this year that would expand safety net benefits including health care coverage and unemployment insurance for immigrants who are in the country without legal authorization.

The demonstration also came as President Donald Trump, now about 10 days into his new term, has announced a range of policies to strike against immigrants.

The march and rally were led by the , an immigrant rights coalition founded in 2016 when Trump was elected to his first term.

We are more organized, we are stronger, and we have been building for another moment like 2016, Brenda Rodriguez Lopez, executive director of the group, said in an interview.

Immigrant rights advocates were joined by several state lawmakers on a cold, cloudy day to advocate for bills supporting immigrants. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/51勛圖夥厙)

Since its founding, the 51勛圖夥厙 Immigrant Solidarity Network has established a deportation defense hotline, expanded its coalition, and pushed for state-level policies to help immigrants.

Now that we’re here, we’re able to respond more quickly, and we have a lot more processes in place that allow for our work to reach more community members, Rodriguez Lopez said.

The groups hotline takes in reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stops, detentions, and raids, provides people with know-your-rights information and connects them with resources for legal support. Since Trump took office, theyve received over 400 calls daily, said Rodriguez Lopez.

Legislative priorities

U.S. law prevents federal funds from going to non-citizens but states can create their own programs to support this population.

51勛圖夥厙 last year began , to cover people who do not meet the federal immigration requirements for Medicaid assistance. But due to limited funding, the number of people who could enroll .

This year, , sponsored by Rep. My-Linh Thai, D-Bellevue, intends to increase health coverage for immigrants by bolstering the previous expansion.

In 51勛圖夥厙, there are an estimated 246,000 immigrants without legal status, half of whom are uninsured and live below 200% of the federal poverty level, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

Hundreds of people marched to the steps of the 51勛圖夥厙 state Capitol in Olympia as part of an immigrant rights rally on Jan. 30, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/51勛圖夥厙)

Thais bill has received criticism from . He created a poll on the social media platform X to ask his followers whether 51勛圖夥厙 should fund a health care program for illegal immigrants or save that money for better access to health care for 51勛圖夥厙 citizens.

Democrats frame the tradeoffs differently.

To those elected officials who say that state dollars cannot go to our immigrant and refugee community, I tell them, look around, they’re your neighbors, said Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo. They pay taxes, they pay money, they contribute, and they deserve every single basic right that we have. We are not talking about status, we are talking about humanity.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rebecca Salda簽a, D-Seattle, is sponsoring , which would expand unemployment insurance for immigrants without legal work authorization. At the rally, Rep. Julio Cortes, D-Everett, announced he was dropping a .

We truly are building a world that doesn’t exist for our people yet, but we are making progress, and so, no matter who’s president, our communities will continue to organize, Rodriguez Lopez said.

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Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero
Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero

Jacquelyn is a Murrow News Fellow with the 51勛圖夥厙. She has previously covered the state legislature in 2024 as an intern with The Seattle Times and has also interned in Samoa at the Samoa Observer and at The News Tribune and WA Latino News covering Latino issues in 51勛圖夥厙 state. She was one of five students nationwide chosen to be a part of ProPublica's Class of 2023 Emerging Reporters and most recently graduated from the University of 51勛圖夥厙 in August 2024.

51勛圖夥厙 is part of , the nations largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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