The Whatcom Racial Equity Commission (WREC) plans to contact local organizations to help them implement strategies from their newly developed Action Guide on Immigration in late March 2026 with approval from board members.
The Action Guide on Immigration is a continuously updated document that provides steps individuals, system leaders and organizations can use to respond to increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence.
The bulk of Skagit Legal Aid’s client population are immigrants, said Executive Director Andy Dugan. The Mount Vernon-based organization provides free legal help for low-income people in four counties, including Whatcom.
“There has been less attendance at events hosted by schools and community organizations.” Dugan said. “It's going to take a long time for individuals to trust the federal government again, if ever.”
Operating under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE arrests in various U.S. states have been increasing since President Donald Trump’s second term. The federal agency received criticism over its aggressive and indiscriminate immigration enforcement strategy, resulting in nationwide protests.
Deportation fear and hopelessness have a mental and physiological toll, said William Lopez, a public health professor at the University of Michigan.
“The goal of deportation is not health or keeping a community intact,” Lopez said. “If we know how to direct our energy, it can reduce the psychological strain of deportation because we aren't helpless. We know what we can do.”
Strategies from the guide include concrete goals, such as funding immigrant rights organizations, as well as organizational changes, like creating response plans for potential ICE workplace visits and increasing language access.
One of over 40 advisory committees in Whatcom County, the WREC was established by a Whatcom County Council ordinance in 2022, spurred by the George Floyd protest movement.
It is considered a quasi-governmental entity; it is partially government-funded and abides by public records law, but is fully community-led. Their goal is to end racial inequality in the county.
The guide was inspired by their first Community Forum on Immigration, said Miriam Karamoko, executive director of the WREC. The closed-door event was a collaboration with Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, held on Nov. 26, 2025. Community leaders learned about responses to increased ICE presence, types of enforcement in the community and what changes were made.
“We were left with valuable input shared from the community,” Karamoko said. “We thought, ‘What would it be like to create some action steps that would allow people at different levels to respond to this very emergent need?’”
WREC members drafted the action guide and published it in December. The following month, it was adopted into a resolution at the Jan. 13 Whatcom County Council meeting.
Along with outreach, the WREC is working on transferring control of the guide to their Community Engagement & Outreach committee, which facilitated the Community Forums on Immigration. The vote for transferring control at their Feb. 11 meeting did not pass. Karamoko said commission members wanted more time to build consensus.
They anticipate that creating systemic change may prove difficult. Karamoko brought up the fear of losing federal funding by becoming a sanctuary city as an example of this hesitation to take action.
“We haven't leaned on the communities who are affected by the issue to tell us how to solve issues,” Karamoko said. “Part of eliminating this hesitancy is (having) trust that people who are facing these issues know solutions that are the most helpful to them.”
With the growth of immigration justice, Lopez said providing instructions can help these organizations run more smoothly.
“Any step, no matter how small, is positive,” Lopez said. “If you've never cared about immigration, deportation, and ICE until this moment, it's the perfect time to start caring.”
At the Feb. 23 Bellingham City Council meeting, 4th ward city council and WREC member Edwin “Skip” Williams announced the WREC will collaborate with Connect Ferndale to host another Community Forum on Immigration on Mar. 17, 2026, in Ferndale.
Allison Lam (she/her) is a city news reporter for The Front. She is a junior public relations pre-major with a communication studies minor. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting and watching sitcoms. She can be reached at allisonlam.thefront@gmail.com.
