Hundreds rally in Olympia for immigrant healthcare, unemployment benefits
Hundreds of immigrant justice advocates rallied Wednesday in Olympia, calling on lawmakers to fund healthcare for all of Washington’s low-income immigrants regardless of status and to fund unemployment insurance for undocumented workers.
The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) sponsored the rally and was joined by other community support groups such as El Centro de la Raza, Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice Northwest and elected officials Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle, and Olympia City Council Member Yến Huỳnh.
Brenda Rodriguez Lopez, executive director for WAISN, said that the gathering was the “biggest advocacy day” for her organization.
“And we are here with a clear message: We are here to stay and you cannot erase us and pretend we don’t exist,” Lopez said.
Lopez said she is the proud daughter of farmworkers in rural Washington. As a child she immigrated to Washington, she said.
“I am here angry — angry that my mother is not receiving the medical care that she needs to stay alive, angry that my family is a paycheck away from eviction, angry that politicians are in there playing with our lives, and this is why I’m here with you today, channeling my pain and anger to fuel my fight for justice and liberation,” Lopez said.
Advocates are requesting at least $25 million as a budget proviso for newly arrived refugees and immigrants in the state, Lopez said, in addition to calling on lawmakers to provide healthcare and unemployment insurance.
People from all over the state, including Pasco, Walla Walla, Spokane, Tacoma and Seattle, took buses to be at the rally, according to organizers, with several of them taking the stage to speak about their own experiences.
Saldaña, taking time between Senate floor sessions, also addressed the crowd.
The Senator noted that just a few years ago, immigrants in Washington did not have “the kind of power that we have now” regardless of status. She also noted that when she first arrived at the Legislature she was the only Latina lawmaker in the Senate, something that has since changed.
“We have a lot longer way to go to make sure that the people making decisions reflect the values and the people that are on the steps here today,” she said.
Saldaña noted that she is the prime sponsor of a bill that would create a wage replacement program for some workers who are excluded from unemployment insurance, but added that the bill has not moved this session. A pilot wage replacement program already exists, she said, and budget writers are being asked to consider more funding to expand the program.
Olympia City Council members signed a proclamation Wednesday to designate Feb. 7, 2024, as Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Day which council member Huỳnh read out loud to the crowd.
According to data from the Migrant Policy Institute, 246,000 undocumented immigrants live in Washington state.
