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WA governor seeks removal of foreign prisoners Seattle (AP) -- Gov. Chris Gregoire is moving forward with clearing Washington prisons of illegal immigrants to save money, but at what may be a slower rate than originally planned after lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would have hastened the process. In a letter sent last week to the state Department of Corrections, Gregoire outlined the state's approach to transferring illegal immigrant prisoners to federal custody. Her proposal, though, does not give the state as much authority as the original bill. The slower rate of transferring prisoners to federal custody may also mean less savings for taxpayers because not as many prisoners are expected to be moved to immigration authorities. The Associated Press

WA city pol seeks verification rules Lakewood, WA -- Illegal immigrants looking for work in Lakewood, may want to try somewhere else if one councilman has his way. The Pierce County city could be the first... WA city mulls status checks Lakewood could become the first city or other government in Washington to require its contractors to confirm the legal status of their new hires. The city is discussing whether to... WA firm under fire for withholding illegals' pay Yakima, WA -- It's a frequently told story among illegal immigrants: An employer refuses to pay workers after they've finished a job. Fearing deportation, workers say nothing and disappear. Rarely...

More Washington Immigration News

WA 'migrant' housing facility nears completion

Basin City, WA -- A housing facility for seasonal farmworkers proposed southwest of Basin City is getting closer to reality, but some neighbors are wary of the project. The Franklin County Farm Bureau recently bought 10 acres just north of...
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WA state college to present data on Latinos

Yakima, WA -- Question: How to supply local agricultural employers with a steady flow of labor? Answer: Reject the federal E-Verify program. Create a new guest worker program. And give college credit to local young people willing to do the...
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Status complicates Washington labor dispute

Maricopa County Sheriff's Offices deputies took nearly 50 suspected undocumented immigrants into custody Monday in different parts of the Valley. Deputies made two traffic stops earlier in the day near Interstate 17 and Anthem Way and discovered 31 suspected undocumented...
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WA state Dems back resolution against Border Patrol

Washington State Democrats has jumped on board with the Democratic parties of Jefferson and Clallam counties in passing a resolution opposing increased presence of Border Patrol agents in the state. Matt Sircely, Jefferson County Democrats chairman, said a resolution presented...
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WA state activists to march on May 1

She says the first march shaped her. It was the spring of 2006. Beljica Cortes was an Eisenhower High School sophomore when she joined thousands who marched in the streets of Yakima in support of rights for illegal immigrants. Until...
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WA lawyer advised fraudulent homosexuality claims

Seattle (AP) -- A man accused of advising straight immigrants to claim homosexuality and potential persecution in their home countries when they applied for asylum has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit immigration fraud. Steven Mahoney entered his plea Tuesday...
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WA foreign labor suit settled

Yakima, WA -- About 650 Yakima Valley farm workers who said they were displaced by imported Thai workers will receive $350 to $500 to compensate their losses, a federal judge has ruled. A May 21 hearing has been set to...
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Border Patrol pledges better outreach in WA

The Border Patrol could have communicated its role and objective to the public better when its North Olympic Peninsula personnel increased more than fourfold in 2007, and the agency will keep trying. That's the message two U.S. Border Patrol spokesmen...
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Feds cut back on WA border checkpoints

Port Angeles, WA -- When the U.S. Border Patrol said last August that it was intensifying its use of highway checkpoints on the North Olympic Peninsula, outrage and division greeted the move. Sixty people attended a protest in Forks Aug....
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WA initiative targets workplace enforcement

Along with war and economics, illegal immigration has been a hot topic in politics for years. Though it has remained on the back burner recently in lieu of economic issues, it has come to the surface again in Washington state...
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Amnesty boosters claim foreigners playing large role in WA economy

Immigrants are playing a bigger role than before in Washington state's economy, an immigration advocacy group said. The Seattle group OneAmerica released a report Wednesday that shows immigrants are increasingly becoming a larger component of the state's work force due...
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DHS releases some detainees caught in WA raid

The arrest of 28 illegal immigrants at a small engine plant in Bellingham has ignited a national political firestorm over work-site raids carried out under the Obama administration. The Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at Yamato Engine Specialists on Feb....
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Feds free workers caught in Washington workplace raid

Bellingham -- Many if not all workers detained in the Feb. 24 immigration raid at Yamato Engine Specialists have been released from the federal detention center in Tacoma. The unexpected move appears to be related to an ongoing federal investigation...
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WA doctor perseveres challenges of immigration

Yakima, WA -- Miguel Blas-Matus vividly recalls growing up with seven siblings in a one-room, dirt-floor house in his homeland of Juchitan, Oaxaca, Mexico. Lacking electricity, they lived by candlelight while his mother cooked over an open fire at night,...
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