Executive Order brings agencies, schools together to support kids separated from parents or caregivers

OLYMPIA – Gov. Bob Ferguson created a rapid response team today aimed at reducing harms caused by President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies which, if implemented, will destabilize families and harm children who are separated from their deported or detained parents or primary caregivers.

Mass deportation was a centerpiece of Trump’s campaign. His campaign website lists “Carry out the largest deportation operation in American history” as second on his list of priorities. Several Day 1 executive orders involved immigration, including “removing promptly all aliens who enter or remain in violation of federal law,” and calling for “the total and efficient enforcement” of “immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens.” Trump has directed the Department of Homeland Security to expand its use of “expedited removal,” which allows immigration officers to deport some people without a hearing. On Jan. 23, his press secretary announced “The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway.”

At an event hosted by OneAmerica at El Centro de la Raza, Ferguson signed Executive Order 25-04 directing the immediate creation of a Family Separation Rapid Response Team in the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). The team will recommended policies and actions for addressing family separation and the lasting effects on children.

If implemented, mass deportation policies will significantly harm kids with undocumented parents. These children are often American citizens.

The team will include professionals within DCYF, Washington State Patrol, the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, the Attorney General’s Office and representatives of the Governor’s Office. Members of the team will consult with regional and local experts on immigration and child welfare. Additionally, they will develop policies aimed at supporting children who experience family separation through the deportation or detention of their parents or caregivers.

“My administration will do everything possible to address the harms caused by a mass deportation and detention program,” Ferguson said. “That includes making sure kids who are torn away from their parents have someone to care for them and uninterrupted access to their education, regardless of their immigration status.”

Ferguson ordered the rapid response team to hold its first meeting by Feb. 14. The team will:

• 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.

The Family Separation Rapid Response Team will be in regular contact with the Governor’s Office to share its findings and recommendations as work progresses.