OLYMPIA, WA – A proposal to bar law enforcement in the state from employing former federal immigration agents hired under President Donald Trump won’t move forward this year in the Washington Legislature.
House Bill 2641 would’ve prohibited bringing on officers who started jobs at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after Trump’s second term inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025.
Rep. Tarra Simmons, D-Bremerton, the lead sponsor of the so-called ICE Out Act, has said Trump’s immigration crackdown since retaking office has raised questions about the training of ICE officers.
The House Community Safety Committee was scheduled to take up her bill for a vote Tuesday afternoon, but didn’t take action. Policy bills like this need to pass out of committee in the chamber where they originate by the end of Wednesday to remain alive in the 60-day legislative session.
Simmons confirmed her bill is dead for the year.
“I’m not happy about it,” she said. “I felt we should’ve kept the conversation going.”
She said whether she revives the legislation next year depends on whether there is a change in immigration enforcement practices.
Gov. Bob Ferguson on Tuesday said that while he hadn’t read the bill, he was “open to it.”
“I think I’ve been pretty clear: anything that’s addressing the situation with ICE, I’m more than happy to have a conversation,” he said.
ICE has raced to add enforcement agents to fuel Trump’s campaign of mass deportations. Last year, Congress earmarked $170 billion to carry out Trump’s immigration agenda in the Republican-backed “big, beautiful bill.”
An application processing error recently sent new ICE recruits into the field without proper training, NBC News reported last month, citing anonymous sources.
Questions about training gaps have grown amid a crackdown in Minnesota, where Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot by federal agents.
Maryland lawmakers are considering legislation to what Simmons proposed.
Other bills still in play
The Community Safety Committee on Tuesday approved other legislation dealing with the relationship between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. House Bill 2648 would require local police in Washington to turn on their body-worn cameras and vehicle dash cameras when encountering federal agents conducting immigration enforcement.
After the encounter, officers would have to report it to their employer so the agency can notify the community.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mary Fosse, D-Everett, argued her measure “provides clarity and the boundaries that will help our law enforcement to do their jobs effectively, ethically, in a way that respects civil rights.”
Republicans were opposed.
“We should have observers to keep law enforcement accountable for anything that they might be doing that is not right,” said Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane. “However, there is a difference between observing and interfering or becoming physical themselves.”
At the federal level, Democrats in Congress are pushing for restrictions on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement as part of funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which only lasts through the end of next week.
Among Democrats’ demands in negotiations with Republicans is prohibiting federal agents from wearing face coverings, mandating body cameras and identification and requiring judicial warrants for arrests and searches.
Democrats in the Washington Senate passed a measure last week banning all law enforcement from covering their faces. The Trump administration has sued California over a similar policy.
This story first appeared on Washington State Standard.
