Tonight, the City Council unanimously adopted Resolution 41757, allocating $20,000 from the Council Contingency Fund to Advocates for Immigrants in Detention Northwest (AIDNW). The funding will support the organization’s Phone Call Fund and Welcome Center services for detainees in the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC). At-Large Council Member Olgy Diaz introduced the resolution with co-sponsors At-Large Council Member Kristina Walker, District 4 Council Member Sandesh Sadalge, and District 5 Council Member Joe Bushnell.
“People detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center are stripped of basic rights and supports that many of us take for granted, from the ability to make a simple phone call to family or a lawyer to arranging pick up when they’re released,” said Council Member Diaz. “With more people being detained, the number of vulnerable individuals needing help keeps rising. We recognize that people are just as vulnerable upon release as they were when first detained, only now facing a new set of uncertainties, often alone, in an industrial area of a city they may not know. This funding is urgently needed to ensure people can contact legal help, connect with loved ones, and get safely to their next destination. This resolution is one step I and my City Council colleagues can take to support those detained in Tacoma while we continue to advocate for systemic immigration reform across the country that treats everyone with fairness, dignity and the humanity they deserve.”
Resolution 41757 emphasizes how crucial communication with the outside world is for detained people. This includes individuals facing deportation while detained in immigration detention centers, who do not have the right to court-appointed counsel. The NWIPC requires detainees to utilize a private, for-profit phone service to place phone calls. Low-income individuals detained in the NWIPC risk being unable to afford to pay for phone access and face reduced access to legal support and poor mental and emotional health impacts from isolation.
This resolution also highlights the critical support AIDNW provides to individuals exiting the NWIPC, many of whom are not from our region and lack local connections or resources. At the Welcome Center RV and tents, volunteers offer essentials like food, clothing, phones, and safe temporary housing, helping immigrants and asylum seekers reconnect with family or sponsors.
“Tacoma is proud to be a welcoming city and AIDNW has been a vital partner in ensuring that our immigrant and refugee community members have access to the support they need,” said Council Member Walker. “I’m proud to support their work, especially their Welcoming Center, as it helps vulnerable individuals who are departing the NWIPC receive the care they need to move forward with dignity—from safe transportation to warm jackets.”
“The importance of this funding was made real to me after I visited and personally spoke to detainees at the NWIPC,” said Council Member Sadalge. “As an immigrant myself, I couldn’t imagine the difficulties in navigating not only the system on the inside, but being released without any support. This funding provides resources to people when they’re released to ease their ability to get back home.”
“We have a responsibility to ensure that everyone, regardless of their legal status, is treated with basic dignity and is not denied access to fundamental human necessities,” said Council Member Bushnell. “Not being able to call your lawyer or speak with your family, especially while in detention, is simply wrong. These funds are critical to keeping families connected and ensuring due process. The Welcome Center plays a vital role in bridging that gap and, without it, too many people would be left without a lifeline.”
AIDNW is a non-profit organization that provides hands-on assistance, advocacy, and support to immigrants detained in the Pacific Northwest. Additional information is available here.