The City of Seattle can anticipate a bus of asylum seekers sent by the Texas Governor any day now. The City currently only has a five-day emergency fund allocated for welcoming these new arrivals. They need to hear from community and advocates that significantly more needs to be done.
The Church Council of Greater Seattle joins the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN), and dozens of local faith communities and organizations, in supporting the increased designation of funds to support the health, safety, and well-being of our migrant siblings as and after they arrive. Here is the text of our letter recently sent:
Dear Governor Inslee, Mayor Harrell, and Seattle and King County Councilmembers,
We, the undersigned community organizations, immigrant and human rights groups, urge you to immediately implement an emergency fund in conjunction with long-term investments in supporting asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants. We have already seen how Governor DeSantis flew migrants to Martha’s Vineyard without alerting local authorities while cruelly lying to migrants, jeopardizing their immigration cases, and manufacturing a crisis as the local community stepped up without any notice to provide support. As Seattle and Washington State continue to welcome asylum seekers, we in this region can do no less. It is our collective responsibility to model a safe, respectful, and humane response to people and families fleeing crises and seeking safe haven.
We all want and deserve safety and security for our families. Migrants seeking asylum and refuge at the southern border are fleeing terrible conditions, violence, and persecution. It is disheartening to see how people are being bussed and flown to cities as a political stunt rather than through fair and humane processes that help families and communities make the transition.
We demand that Washington invest in a long-term plan for welcoming migrants to the state beyond a five-day emergency fund. Every level of government must develop a coordinated strategy to help migrants successfully integrate and thrive in Washington and give them a fair opportunity to make a claim for permanent protection. Mayor Harrell, Governor Inslee, and our city and county council members must act together to meet both emergency and long-term needs, and live up to Washington’s promise of being a welcoming state for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.
We cannot let disinformation, fear, and partisanship take over. We will fight for our families’ safety, security, and freedom and we need our elected leaders to demonstrate our values through action, not just words.
Sincerely,
The Church Council of Greater Seattle