Two measures impacting immigrants will be considered by the Bellingham City Council next week, including a move to disband the Immigration Advisory Board, whose meetings have been suspended since the first of the year.
Both measures will be discussed when the council’s Committee of the Whole meets Monday at 1 p.m. at City Hall, 210 Lottie St. The votes are scheduled when the council meets at 7 p.m. and no public hearings are scheduled. Both meetings will be streamed live on YouTube.
▪ One measure is a resolution to create a temporary Keep Washington Working Act “advisory working group” to study and advise the city on policy and compliance.
Keep Washington Working is a 2019 law that prohibits law enforcement officers from detaining or arresting someone solely to determine his or her immigration status, because being undocumented in the United States is not a crime under local, state, or federal law.
▪ A second measure would be the dissolution of the city’s Immigration Advisory Board, whose meetings have been suspended since a Jan. 29 City Council vote.
Councilwoman Hannah Stone, an immigration attorney who proposed forming the board in 2019, cited “tensions” within the group’s members and asked for a restart, according to previous reporting from the Bellingham Herald.
The Immigration Advisory Board was formed by the council “to review and evaluate existing policies and make specific recommendations to the Mayor and City Council regarding the City’s policies regarding immigration matters,” according to the city’s website.
Most recent efforts have included planning for an immigrant information center.
The members are appointed by the mayor and the twelve-member board has four vacancies.
Members of the Immigration Advisory Board are encouraged to run for the committee investigating the Keep Washington Working Act, according to supporting documents on the agenda.
“This action would provide definitive clarity on the status of the Immigration Advisory Board, especially for current members, rather than leaving the Immigration Advisory Board on hiatus until 2026. This will allow members to apply to participate in the Keep Washington Working Group, another city advisory group, or otherwise lend their support to the community,” according to the council agenda.
