OLYMPIA [CASSIE DIAMOND]—Lawmakers clashed during a public hearing for a bill that would prohibit Washington law enforcement agencies from employing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers hired after Trump’s second-term inauguration.
During a House Community Safety Committee meeting Thursday, Jan. 29, the division between Democratic and Republican legislators regarding their stances towards ICE was made apparent.
Rep. Tarra Simmons, D-Bremerton, is the prime sponsor of House Bill 2641, also known as the ICE Out Act of 2026.
“If there are people with legitimate authority who are willing to violate the civil rights of individuals in our community, those skills cannot be easily transitioned into our law enforcement,” she said. “It’s just a really unprecedented time right now.”
Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane, the top Republican on the House Community Safety Committee, took issue with comments Simmons made during her opening remarks.
Graham called for a “point of order” when Simmons described ICE as “using children as bait to detain their parents.”
Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, the chair of the House Community Safety Committee, responded by asking Simmons to “try not to use inflammatory phrases.”
Graham again interrupted when Simmons said the state can’t afford to potentially hire “individuals who are steeped in a culture of lawlessness.”
Reps. Brian Burnett, R-Wenatchee, and Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, asked questions of Simmons after her remarks, noting potential discrimination issues. Simmons responded that the state would have questions about the character of someone who would join ICE in the current political climate.
When Graham indicated she also wanted to ask a question, Goodman instead moved to suspend the hearing on the bill and advance to a hearing for the next one.
Graham immediately requested a caucus, and Goodman called for a brief recess. The committee reconvened roughly 15 minutes later.
Simmons said the Democrats discussed other bills that would be up for executive session next week during their caucus.
According to Graham, the Republicans used their caucus to talk about what they viewed as blatant rule violations during the hearing.
“It’s the chair’s job to maintain decorum in that committee,” she said, “and when they allow inflammatory things, making accusations against other people and inciting violence, that’s a huge problem.”
After resuming, members moved onto a hearing on House Bill 2648, which concerns state and local enforcement interactions with federal immigration enforcement officials.
The hearing on HB 2641 remained suspended, and no public testimony on the bill was heard.
Simmons expressed disappointment.
“I was interested to hear from both the pro and the con testimony, so it could help me have any perspective I needed in order to learn, and also to revise the policy,” she said.
A major influence for her bill, she said, was a similar proposal introduced in Maryland called the ICE Breaker Act.
Simmons also noted she is now “feeling more pessimistic” about the prospects of the bill passing given the timeline of the short legislative session.
The measure is currently scheduled for an executive session Feb. 3, but Simmons said she is concerned it will be pulled from the calendar.
According to Simmons, Washingtonians who support the bill can write to the committee chair asking him to pass it.
Simmons said she is open to considering amendments that would give those who joined ICE in the current political climate a “second chance” if the bill were to move forward, such as requiring they go through additional layers of background checks to be hired.
To Graham, the bill is fundamentally flawed.
“We have a U.S. Constitution that mandates that our borders are protected and the people within our borders are protected,” she said. “So this bill is not only unconstitutional, it’s discriminatory [in] the way that it’s laid out.”
HB 2641 is one of the latest pieces of legislation introduced by state lawmakers designed to target the presence of ICE in Washington.
The measure’s hearing came a day after the Senate passed along party lines Senate Bill 5855, which would prohibit law enforcement from wearing face coverings.
Graham said she views HB 2641 and similar legislation that attempts to regulate ICE within Washington as a “distraction” given the state’s inability to regulate federal issues.
“It is taking time away from other bills that we have that could make a difference in the lives of the people that we serve,” Graham said. “That’s the job we’re supposed to be doing.”
Simmons, however, emphasized that the measure has merit.
“I want our law enforcement in Washington to continue on its positive trajectory of building trust with community,” she said, “and I believe that knowing ICE will not become officers here would help alleviate the fears of my constituents right now.”
The Washington State Journal is a nonprofit news website operated by the WNPA Foundation. To learn more, go to wastatejournal.org.
Author: Washington State Journal
