
Ferguson Slams ‘Family Separation,’ Convenes Rapid Response Team
Gov. Bob Ferguson has established a rapid response team to counter what he describes as the negative effects of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. These policies, Ferguson says, threaten to destabilize families by separating children from their deported or detained parents.
Mass deportation, as it's often called, was a cornerstone of Trump's 2024 campaign; he pledged to swiftly remove undocumented immigrants via executive order. This remains a top - maybe the top - priority on his domestic agenda.
"Over the past four years," Trump decreed on Jan. 20, "the United States has endured a large-scale invasion at an unprecedented level. Millions of illegal aliens from nations and regions all around the world successfully entered the United States where they are now residing, including potential terrorists, foreign spies, members of cartels, gangs and violent transnational criminal organizations, and other hostile actors with malicious intent."

"This cannot stand. A nation without borders is not a nation, and the federal government must act with urgency and strength to end the threats posed by an unsecured border. One of my most important obligations is to protect the American people from the disastrous effects of unlawful mass migration and resettlement."
In response, Ferguson has signed Executive Order 25-04 to form a Family Separation Rapid Response Team within the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).
"The deportation or detention of a child's parents or primary caregivers," Ferguson writes, "may result in the child facing significant challenges in completing their education, and may also have deeply harmful effects on the child's general health and welfare."
Moreover, Ferguson says, "The child may experience unique hardships in temporary or long-term out-of-home care, including in relation to their culture, heritage and the lasting trauma of family separation."
This team comprises professionals from various state agencies: Washington State Patrol, the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, the Attorney General’s Office, etc. The brain trust will develop policies to support afflicted children and, ultimately, blunt the impact of family separations, according to Ferguson.
The team exists, Ferguson says, to review agenda items, collaborate with educational bodies to minimize educational disruption and establish communication channels to ensure continued care and access to education for impacted children.
The team's inaugural meeting is scheduled for Feb. 14.
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