Bellingham dissolves Immigration Advisory Board, creates a new work group

This week, Bellingham’s City Council voted to dissolve its Immigration Advisory Board. The city has now created a new work group to support its compliance with the Keep Washington Working Act.

The board was created in 2019 to advise the city on immigration matters. In the past, the board has raised concerns about protecting people’s immigration status, federal immigration agents’ presence in the city and language accessibility during emergencies.

Last February, the City Council suspended the board meetings, and put it under evaluation after concerns about the board’s co-governance advocacy model.

Michael Lilliquist is a city council member.

“I saw the IAB playing a role that didn’t make sense. It’s not that the activity didn’t make sense, but the mechanism didn’t make sense,” Lilliquist said during a Committee Of The Whole meeting on Sept. 30.

The Bellingham City Council unanimously approved the creation of the Keep Washington Working Act work group.

Council member Hannah Stone discussed the initiative during the same meeting.

“The scope of work outlined in the Keep Washington Working work group is a narrow scope, but important scope that could lead to some really significant impacts for the better in our community to benefit and help protect and ensure safety for members of the immigrant community here in Bellingham,” Stone said.

Lilliquist said the new group would be a better mechanism for addressing matters that the Immigration Advisory Board has highlighted in the past.

The Keep Washington Working Act established a statewide policy that supports the economy and immigrants’ role in the workplace. It includes limiting local law enforcement agencies from asking for or collecting information about a person’s immigration or citizenship status.

The new group will advise the city on compliance and make policy recommendations.

Lisa Friend lives in Bellingham. During public comments in a regular meeting on Monday, she said she appreciated the city’s efforts to comply with the Keep Washington Working Act.

However, Friend added that the city should have kept the Immigration Advisory Board, considering its high immigrant population.

“Why make it harder for these voices to be heard? Yes, that board insisted on action, and yes, that board demanded resources and accountability from the city. All of our boards should be so confident in the leadership that we provide them,” she said.

City council members said the new group also encouraged participation from immigrant communities. They invited members of the disbanded Immigration Advisory Board to apply to join the new group.