Walla Walla’s immigration rapid response team gears up

Last year, the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network said it trained more than 700 people to join rapid response teams.

These teams spring into action when immigration raids occur in their communities. The members, who are often volunteers, say they help immigrants understand their rights and communicate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Walla Walla’s rapid response team has been around since 2016, when some concerned citizens banded together and launched an emergency hotline for immigrants with immediate needs. In recent years, they pivoted into connecting callers with social services and resources. That became the foundation for the Walla Walla Immigrant Rights Coalition. 

“That’s really kind of how the organization itself started,” said Abby Muro, its executive director. “Being an emergency contact for immigration related assistance.”

But with the Trump administration’s promises to carry out mass deportations, Muro said her organization decided it was time to revamp its rapid response arm.

On Sunday, the coalition held an emergency meeting to recruit and train new members. Muro said roughly 20 people showed up, about three-quarters of whom were new faces. 

The recruits received training from Abigail Scholar, the executive director of Central Washington Justice for our Neighbors, a nonprofit with offices in Walla Walla and Ellensburg. They learned how to identify and interact with ICE agents and how to help community members exercise their rights during a raid. 

“We’ve got to make sure that we have our rapid response network available to support our  community,” Muro said. So “folks who are being detained or at risk of being deported, that they have somebody there, who is a citizen who is able to speak calmly to ICE agents and talk through situations, to really be that first responder in a sense.” 

The team will mobilize based on tips it receives from community members and from the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network’s central hotline. Walla Walla’s cohort has about 30 members; Muro hopes it can soon become a 24/7 operation. 

Muro said part of the rapid response team’s work is combating misinformation about ICE sightings on social media.

For instance, last weekend, her team spotted a Facebook post claiming there had been an ICE raid at Taqueria Mi Pueblito, a popular Mexican restaurant. The team visited the restaurant, determined the story was false and asked the individual to delete the post.

“We want to protect our community in getting them the most accurate information possible,” Muro said. “So that we aren’t creating more fear.”  

That fear, Muro said, is palpable right now. She’s heard from mixed-status families, where some members are undocumented, who have stopped going to work or school or are afraid to visit public places. 

Muro said no ICE activity has been confirmed in Walla Walla yet. As NWPB reported last week, it has been confirmed in Sunnyside.