OLYMPIA, WA – Gov. Bob Ferguson signed three bills to protect immigrant rights this week.

These included measures to strengthen state power to inspect private detention facilities, prevent coercion in the workplace, and prohibit bail bond agents from enforcing immigration laws.

Lawmakers put forward the legislation at a time when President Donald Trump is trying to crack down on people crossing into the country illegally and as his administration presses to deport immigrants already in the U.S. without legal authorization.

Here’s a look at what the new state laws would do.

Detention centers

State lawmakers have been pushing for greater transparency at the for-profit immigrant detention center in Tacoma. Previous efforts on this front have landed the state in court battles with the for-profit company that operates the facility, The GEO Group.

House Bill 1232 is the latest attempt to pave the way for the state’s Department of Health to inspect the Northwest ICE Processing Center and enforce compliance with state and federal laws there.

It establishes additional standards for such facilities in areas like sanitation, ventilation and medical care, along with new safeguards against abuse.

The bill also expands the definition of private detention facilities to include those run by nonprofit organizations after The GEO Group, which runs the Tacoma facility, claimed to be singled out under existing law. The nonprofit Martin Hall Juvenile Detention Facility, near Spokane, will now join the list of these facilities.

Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, sponsor of the bill, said she hopes this legislation demonstrates the state is not targeting a single facility.

The law is effective immediately.

Workplace coercion

There is often limited recourse for immigrant workers facing threats or being exploited by their employer. Senate Bill 5104, sponsored by Sen. Bob Hasegawa, D-Seattle, intends to give immigrant workers better tools when facing coercion in the workplace.

The bill would require the state’s Department of Labor and Industries to investigate complaints of coercion and would allow the agency to impose civil penalties when violations occur.

Coercion differs from retaliation because it happens before an employee raises an issue. Retaliation happens after the employee does so.

During the complaint process, when a worker files a complaint, the department will notify the employer, but language in the bill was added to make a worker’s personal information confidential to anyone other than the department and the employee.

“Every Washington worker can and should feel safe to report workplace injustices without fear of coercion or retaliation of any kind,” Ferguson said at the bill signing.

The bill would take effect on July 1.

Bail bond agents

Following an incident in January during a public meeting in Sunnyside, a person claiming to be a “bounty hunter” said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would soon use bail bond agents to arrest people in the U.S. without legal authorization and pay them $1,000 for every arrest. ICE had detained two people in Sunnyside around this time.

Senate Bill 5714 would expand the list of unprofessional conduct for bail bond agents to include enforcement of a civil immigration warrant. The Department of Licensing could take disciplinary action against agents found to be in violation.

Bail bond agents already largely lacked the authority to get involved in immigration issues. But Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, said she introduced the bill because “people can operate right on the boundaries.” The law, she said, will provide clarification about those boundaries and the penalties for crossing them.

It would also prevent agents from sharing a defendant’s immigration status with anyone outside their business.

The bill would take effect on July 27.

Other legislation

In addition to the laws the governor signed Monday, the Legislature approved a bill to allow immigrants to use paid sick time for immigration proceedings, which Ferguson signed in April, and a bill to have an expedited pardon process for those facing deportation, which is awaiting the governor’s signature.

Lawmakers also maintained funding in the budget they approved for a state program that provides health care coverage that mirrors Medicaid to a limited number of immigrants without legal status. Ferguson has still not signed off on the budget legislation.

This story first appeared on Washington State Standard.