FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT
Magaly Smith, media@weareoneamerica.org, 206-452-8403
Governor Ferguson’s Oversight over Data Sharing Puts Washingtonians Safety at Risk
Immigrant Rights Organizations Call for an Audit of all State Agencies
Seattle, WA – In an investigation by King 5, Governor Bob Ferguson and Washington State’s Department of Licensing provided a statement confirming that data of Washingtonians from the Department of Licensing has been used by federal agencies to share information with ICE for the purposes of federal immigration enforcement. OneAmerica, a statewide immigrant rights organization, is appalled at this clear lack of oversight that has allowed federal agents to track down Washingtonians and disappear them, separating them from their families and communities.
On July 18, 2025, OneAmerica, the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network and several partner organizations, sent a letter via email to the Governor’s office demanding they immediately close all contracts with agencies who have been deputized to now also engage in immigration enforcement, institute monthly monitoring certifying there has been no sharing of information with federal agencies, and that they conduct an emergency audit of all state agencies to identify all active and passive sharing of personal identifiable information with federal agencies. The investigation by King 5 asserts that none of these demands were met.
Roxana Norouzi, OneAmerica Executive Director, shared this statement following the news of King 5’s investigation:
“Over the years, Washington State has built trust with immigrant communities – welcoming them to have access to driver’s licenses while assuring us that our data will be safe in their hands. This news puts all our safety at risk as it provides an example of the federal government co-opting everyday databases and tools to surveil us and terrorize our streets.
When we first learned that immigration agencies were accessing our private data, we sounded the alarm and made our recommendations to proactively mitigate harm. They were not followed. And now, via a media outlet, we are learning that ICE is actively, through other federal agencies, using state data for its mass deportation agenda. It is our Governor’s responsibility to protect our data. While we commend the termination of federal access to our state driver and plate information, the delay in doing so has caused not only a breach of trust but also great harm to at least one family and likely many more.
We know that the current administration does not play by the rules nor believes in the rule of law, and so our elected leaders must operate in that context to protect all who call Washington home. As the federal government ramps up its mass deportation agenda and undermines our civil rights, so must Washington state proactively ramp up its efforts to keep Washingtonians safe. Keep Washington Working is a commitment to our communities, and it should be the floor not the ceiling, of what the state should do to protect Washingtonians.
While Washington families are being torn apart, the state cannot be complacent. Governor Ferguson must work proactively and do all that is within his control to protect our state and our people from federal overreach. We call on him to review all data sharing with federal agencies to fully understand the misuse, do a full audit of every state agency to ensure our data is protected, and mitigate the harm caused by this data sharing by compensating families who have been affected. It is long past time for our state to step up and protect all of us who call Washington home.”
Brenda Rodriguez Lopez, Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network Executive Director, shared:
“As the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) and its Steering Committee representing 400 organizations from every corner of Washington, we are calling on Governor Bob Ferguson to take immediate steps to support and protect Washington’s immigrant communities in the face of the federal government’s mass detention and deportation agenda.
Every day, we receive hundreds of calls from all over the state to our Deportation Defense Hotline, including families in crisis reporting that their partner, their parents, or their neighbor has been detained. Right now, people from our communities are scared to drive to work or take their children to school. We cannot live like this. We need Governor Ferguson to proactively work with immigrant justice leaders, not only in reaction to ongoing crises, but work with us as trusted partners for a safer, stronger, more just Washington state. ”