ANNOUNCEMENTS / NEWS

NWIRP Challenges Local Law Enforcement Use of U.S. Border Patrol Agents as “Interpreters”: Today, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) and cooperating attorneys Elizabeth Hawkins and Wendy Hernandez filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security challenging the practice of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies calling in U.S. Border Patrol agents as “interpreters” for routine matters. The complaint asserts that this practice violates federal laws including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by failing to ensure that all persons have access to government services, regardless of limited English skills. Read the press release.

Lawsuit Challenges Unconstitutional Stops and Interrogations by Border Patrol Agents on Olympic Peninsula: Three residents of the Olympic Peninsula today filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the U.S. Border Patrol’s practice of stopping vehicles and interrogating occupants without legal justification. Filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, the lawsuit says that the Border Patrol’s suspicionless stops on the Peninsula violate constitutional rights, and it seeks a court injunction barring such unlawful stops in the future. Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) and the ACLU of Washington are representing the residents and will seek class-action status for the suit. Read the press release.

NWIRP hiring Bilingual (Spanish) Staff Attorney for Tacoma, WA Office: For full consideration, please submit application by April 13, 2012. Position open until filled. Click here for job description.