WA officials decry Trump travel ban, consider legal action
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson is speaking out again against a Trump travel ban.
New restrictions from the federal government went into effect on Monday.
They fully or partially prohibit people from 19 countries from entering the United States. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.
Ferguson held a press conference with community leaders Tuesday to voice opposition.
When Ferguson was state attorney general, he sued Trump for a similar travel ban.
"While it does seem difficult to believe we are back here again, one thing has not changed," Ferguson said during the press conference. "That is: Washington will not just stand up to what’s going on. We will lead on this issue."
The Trump administration cited national security reasons for banning people from these countries.
Hamdi Mohamed is the department director for Seattle’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. She was born in Somalia, one of the countries on Trump's list.
“I arrived in the United States as a three-year-old refugee after my family went through a rigorous vetting process to bring us to safety," she said during the press conference. "And let me tell you that process is still in place, and it gets tougher every year”
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said the ban comes at an especially harmful time.
"As we get prepared for the FIFA World Cup coming to North America, now is the time to reaffirm our commitment to being a destination the world can trust," he said.
The ban does not apply to athletes coming to the US for competition.
Current state Attorney General Nick Brown has filed multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration since the president took office but said his office will be “taking a careful look” at the travel ban before deciding if it will take any action.
Top prosecutor in Spokane County to leave office
Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Haskell is stepping down.
He announced his retirement Tuesday after a decade of service. His last day at the County will be Friday, July 18.
Haskell was elected prosecuting attorney three times since 2014.
"Being elected to this office has been one of the greatest honors of my life," Haskell said.
His tenure hasn’t been without controversy. In 2022, critics condemned racist social media comments posted by Haskell’s wife.
Haskell also called his wife’s comments “reprehensible.” He was re-elected later that year.
Spokane County Commissioners have yet to make an official decision on Haskell’s temporary replacement.
The Board has discussed appointing Chief Criminal Prosecuting Attorney Preston McCollam to fill in. A county-wide election will be held in 2026.
Anti-ICE protests spread across WA, country after military deployment to LA
Protests have reached Seattle this week in response to the recent unrest in Los Angeles, where President Donald Trump called in the military.
On Tuesday morning, about 40 people gathered at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in downtown Seattle, which houses a federal immigration court. Protesters chanted expletives directed at ICE in English and Spanish, while a others clashed with police in an attempt to block vehicle access to the building with electric bikes and scooters.
“Things are definitely heating up,” said Mathieu Chabaud, an organizer with the University of Washington’s Students for a Democratic Society and an attendee at the demonstration Tuesday. “The school year is wrapping up. Students are looking for something to do in the summer, and the Federal Building is a target because there's immigration courthouses here.”
Just a few weeks ago, Immigration and Customs Enforcement began arresting people attending hearings in this building, after their hearings were dismissed by judges.
Tuesday’s protest followed another on Monday, when roughly 300 people marched to Seattle’s City Hall in opposition to the arrest of a union leader last Friday in L.A.
A small group of protesters, some in black with faces covered, attempted to block the federal building's vehicle entrances by dragging Lime electric bikes and scooters, their alarms squeaking, to the ramps. They laid the devices out to barricade the exits with the apparent purpose of blocking federal vehicles from taking detainees out. When police with the Department of Homeland Security took the bikes away, the protesters put them back, and they remained in place into the afternoon.
An immigration attorney told KUOW people taken from the courthouse by ICE could be on a plane out of the U.S. “in three hours.”
“Immigrants are going to be shuttled out one of those doors as they start stacking bodies today,” said Matt Payne, a volunteer observer, as he watched the protesters in the morning. “Vehicles are going to start exiting this building, and they're going to be [chock-full] of immigrants.”
No vehicles appeared to leave the courthouse during the morning and early afternoon. A lone counterprotester from Seattle, named Von Edlund, held a sign that read “100,000 deported, 11 million to go,” and asked onlookers to take a picture of him with his phone.
“I'm a Democrat, but I'm also an American, and I'm really tired of us getting overrun by all these foreigners,” Edlund said. “Trump's doing the right thing, and as much as I dislike him… this should have been done years ago.”
A protest against the administration's actions is planned for Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Spokane's Riverfront Park.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the time of the planned protest in Spokane. We regret the error.
ID SNAP restrictions approved by USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cleared Idaho to ban recipients from using federal food benefits, or SNAP, for unhealthy items.
The Idaho legislature passed a bill to do just that during this year’s session, but the state needed a waiver from the federal government to implement the policy. Now, SNAP cannot be used to buy soda or candy in Idaho.
The Gem State joins a growing list of states like Nebraska, Arkansas, Indiana and Iowa that are further restricting how food benefits can be used.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little applauded the approval.
"Idaho proudly welcomes the MAHA movement because it is all about looking for new ways to improve nutrition, increase exercise, and take better care of ourselves and one another, especially our children," Little said in a statement. "We are excited to partner with the Trump administration in bringing common sense to the government's food assistance program with the approval of our SNAP waiver."
In Washington, SNAP cannot be used to buy food that will be eaten in the store, hot foods or alcohol.
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Reporting by Eliza Billingham, Doug Nadvornick, Scott Greenstone and Owen Henderson.