Today's headlines:
- Washington Democrats are sounding the alarm about the Trump administration's strikes in Iran, but Rep. Baumgartner says he's "very pleased" by the military actions.
A lawsuit from the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project challenges a Trump administration policy requiring mandatory detention for people who entered the U.S. illegally – regardless of how long they’ve lived in the U.S. - Washington House and Senate pass their versions of operation, capital and transportation budgets. Childcare, education and healthcare face the deepest cuts.
- The window for state and federal candidates to file to run in Idaho closed Friday. Who threw their hats in the ring?
- Spokane is set to vote on a citywide kratom ban. If it passes, it will be the first of its kind in Washington.
And it's been a month since temporary protected status for Haitians was supposed to expire. A judge blocked the order, but uncertainty remains. Katia Jasmin, executive director of Creole Resources, and Widjine Juste, a student at Spokane Community Collge, talk to SPR about their experience in the U.S. and how they're trying to look forward, not back.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting contributed by Owen Henderson, Amy Radil, Sarah Mizes-Tan, Doug Nadvornick and Eliza Billingham.
Eliza Billingham provides digital support.
Owen Henderson hosts and produces the show.
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TRANSCRIPT
[THEME MUSIC]
OWEN HENDERSON: From Spokane Public Radio, it’s SPR News Today.
I’m Owen Henderson. It’s Monday, March 2, 2026.
On today’s show, elected officials from the Northwest are weighing in on President Trump’s military strikes in Iran this weekend. While Republicans say the strikes were necessary for American safety, Democrats say Iran’s military capabilities didn’t pose enough of a risk to outweigh the human cost and Congressional authority.
And Democrats in Olympia have passed spending plans in both legislative chambers. Now, they have to reconcile the budgets—and land on a plan Governor Bob Ferguson will sign.
Plus, as Haitians across the country wait to see if their immigration protections will stay in place, we’ll hear from two Haitians in Spokane about how they’re trying to keep moving forward.
Those stories and more, coming up on SPR News Today.
[FADE OUT THEME]
Northwest federal officials are split along party lines in their reactions to President Trump’s strikes on Iran.
GOP senators and congressmen representing Idaho and eastern Washington have praised and voiced support for the administration.
Spokane Republican Michael Baumgartner serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
He told reporters yesterday Democrats are wrong about the need for Congress to approve the strikes, saying Iran posed a threat to Americans.
MICHAEL BAUMGARTNER: “I'm comfortable that the administration is within the bounds of the law and certainly the bounds of the Constitution.”
OH: But in a statement, Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray said if Trump was correct that the U-S had “obliterated” Iranian nuclear capabilities, the strikes could not have been in self-defense.
Senator Maria Cantwell also condemned the military action.
In social media posts, both Senators said while the Iranian regime is brutal, the human cost and need for Congress to assert its authority are more important.
Lawmakers from both parties, however, are offering condolences to the families of the US service members who have been killed or injured so far as Iran responds with its own strikes.
The Pentagon says so far, four Americans have been killed. The Red Crescent says at least 555 people have been killed in Iran.
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This week in Seattle, the Ninth Circuit court of appeals will consider a case that backers say could ultimately affect millions of people in immigration detention around the country.
KUOW’s Amy Radil explains.
AMY RADIL: The lawsuit from the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project challenges a Trump administration policy requiring mandatory detention for people who entered the U.S. illegally—regardless of how long they’ve lived in the U.S.
Attorney Matt Adams says previously these people could seek release if they were not deemed a safety or flight risk.
MATT ADAMS: “So for thirty years they’ve been receiving bond hearings up until now. And all of a sudden there’s been this abrupt reversal of the executive’s interpretation of the law.”
AR: A federal judge in Tacoma struck down the policy but said immigration courts are defying that order. Meanwhile another federal appeals court has upheld the new interpretation, meaning the issue could make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
I’m Amy Radil reporting.
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OH: Republicans in Olympia are voicing strong opposition to Democrats’ plans for adjustments to Washington’s two-year budget.
State government reporter Sarah Mizes-Tan reports the House and Senate approved operating budgets late Friday and Saturday.
SARAH MIZES-TAN: Both versions of the budget include heavy cuts to childcare, education and healthcare. Democrats say they’re wrangling with deficits due to inflation, cuts from the federal government and legal claims against the state.
Republicans in the House spoke emotionally on Saturday about cases of children harmed or killed because of failures of the state’s child welfare system. They want the Legislature to find ways to stop the harm and the costly lawsuits.
There are objections from both sides of the aisle to the redirection of climate act funds to narrow short-term deficits. Republicans suggested the funds should be used to pay for property tax relief or gas rebates.
The House and Senate will now work to create one final budget to send to the Governor’s desk by March 12.
In Olympia, I’m Sarah Mizes-Tan.
OH: The House and Senate also unanimously passed their Transportation and Capital budgets.
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A two-week filing period opens today for candidates for Idaho local and county offices.
The one-week window for federal and state officials closed Friday afternoon. Nearly 400 people filed.
In Idaho’s May primary elections, voters will choose from 16 gubernatorial candidates: eight Republicans, including current Governor Brad Little, four Democrats, two Libertarians, one Independent and one Constitution Party candidate.
Most other statewide office holders—all Republicans—don’t have primary challengers, but do have Democratic opponents.
Nine candidates are challenging Republican U.S. Senator Jim Risch, who is running for a fourth term.
Republican incumbent Russ Fulcher is one of seven candidates to represent north Idaho in the U.S. House.
Each of the North Idaho state senators has at least one challenger.
Bonner County Republicans Jim Woodward and Scott Herndon will square off for a third consecutive election to represent District 1.
Herndon unseated Woodward in 2022, but Woodward won reelection in 2024.
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Spokane City Council is set to vote tonight on a citywide kratom ban.
Kratom is a drug derived from a plant most commonly found in Southeast Asia. It’s currently unregulated by the federal government.
Supporters of the ban say kratom is currently targeted towards kids and has under-researched long-term effects.
Opponents of the ban say kratom has powerful harm reduction benefits, especially for people withdrawing from opioids.
Washington state considered putting age limits or licensing restrictions on kratom this legislative session, but no proposals passed out of committee.
If Spokane passes the ban, it will be the first Washington city to do so. Spokane Valley is considering a similar ban.
[SHORT MUSIC BED]
Temporary protected status, or TPS, is a humanitarian designation for immigrants coming to the U.S. because of danger or disaster in their home country.
Last year, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem decided Haiti no longer met the threshold for that status. TPS for Haitians was set to expire at the beginning of February.
But a judge in D.C. paused that order the night before Haitians would’ve lost the protections.
SPR spoke with two Haitians in Spokane about why they came to the U.S. and how they’re trying to move forward despite the controversy around their status.
Widjine Juste is studying at Spokane Community College in the hopes of becoming an immigration lawyer. Katia Jasmin is the executive director of Creole Resources.
When Jasmin started the nonprofit in 2023 to help Creole immigrants learn English and find jobs, she had already lived in Spokane for a decade.
But the number of people who turned out for the group’s first event still surprised her…
KATIA JASMIN: 70 plus people shows up. I was like, ‘I didn't know we have that many Haitians here.’ And then yeah, so and then more people move here and then bring their family over.
And then there was like the Biden program, which is if you legal here, you can sponsor someone in Haiti. So that's why most of the one that we have here came from the TPS and the Biden program, which is that's when Widjine moved here.
WIDJINE JUSTE: As Katia said, like, I moved here like in the Biden program and because of my uncle, because he lived here in Spokane.
And I came here like at 17. So without parents, it was just like me. And I think like a lot of families like left Haiti to come here for like safety, you know, and have like more opportunities.
KJ: I tell people my story because like back in Haiti, a gay member come to my house and stuff. And then when they were about to leave, they took me with them because they say I was the mouthy one because I was the one talking back to them. And yeah, it was scary. Yeah, but they did let me go because we give money, but it's scary.
So February 3rd was the date that TPS was scheduled to expire. So they did not extend it, but they blocked the revocation of the TPS.
So they say Haitians still can work. So employers cannot fire them or do anything. But the thing is since the first time like, you know, this administration was like—I don't know, they were going after Haitian. ‘We eat dogs and cat.’
And like when the first time they say they're going to stop TPS, a lot of employers fires Haitian. That was 2025 we're talking about.
And since then, they still cannot find job. They are applying for jobs and stuff. They still cannot find jobs.
And after they put the ban on Haiti. So Haiti is one of the country that had the ban on. So people that was supposed to get their citizenship, they are not scheduled them to get that.
People that supposed to get their permanent residence are not getting any interview to get that. And people that already passed the test to become a U.S. citizen, they say you're not qualified for it.
WJ: TPS for Haitian, it's mean like stability and protection. It allows, you know, like Haitian to work legally and then they can like protect their children back in Haiti, like the family, they can support them and then they can live without like, you know, consistent fear.
Like for me personally, TPS bring, like, a peace of mind so I can go to school, you know, and then I can work without, like, thinking about my status and stuff. And then that's also like gives me hopes and motivation that I can move forward.
KJ: I see other people are still getting their citizenship and permanent residence. So I would like them to facilitate that for the Haitian too. Because all we need or they need is just to work and so they can support their family.
So by blocking all the pathway or anything that can help them support their family, I don't think it's fair. If they open the door for them, they are not asking for, like, handout. As soon that they move here, the first thing they ask you, ‘Can you find me a job?’ And they want to learn English.
So English and job. So we don't want to be on welfare. Like people think that we are on welfare. No. The way we were raised, they always tell us like ‘Never ask the government for anything. If you can go and clean somebody house, do it.’
So that's a living. We earn our money. So that's all we are asking: a way that we can earn money so we can help support ourselves and our family.
OH: Those were the voices of Haitian Spokane residents Katia Jasmin and Widjine Juste.
[SHORT MUSIC BED]
SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by Amy Radil, Sarah Mizes-Tan, Doug Nadvornick, Steve Jackson, Eliza Billingham and me, Owen Henderson.
I’m also the host and producer. Eliza Billingham provides digital support.
Thanks for listening.
It’s SPR.
