Speaking of Seattle: Immigrant Rights Are Human Rights
A civic panel examining how federal immigration enforcement affects Seattle communities and what legal tools residents have to respond, moderated by Marcus Harrison Green.
Why we picked this
With federal enforcement tactics escalating and Seattle communities directly affected, this panel assembles unusual expertise — a human rights scholar, a city councilmember, a former city attorney, and a front-line advocate — to move past alarm and toward action.
What does it mean to treat immigration enforcement as a human rights issue rather than a law-and-order one — and what can Seattle residents actually do when confronted with fear-based tactics in their neighborhoods? This panel convenes four people with distinct vantage points on those questions: Angelina Snodgrass Godoy, Helen H. Jackson Endowed Chair in Human Rights at the University of Washington; Roxana Norouzi, Executive Director of OneAmerica; Erika Evans, former Seattle City Attorney; and Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Seattle City Councilmember. Marcus Harrison Green, publisher of Hinton Publishing and founder of the South Seattle Emerald, moderates.
The conversation is framed around a practical question — how community members can respond lawfully and effectively — but it draws on deep expertise in both the legal frameworks governing immigration enforcement and the lived experience of affected communities. Godoy brings an international human rights lens to domestic policy; Norouzi leads one of Washington State’s largest immigrant advocacy organizations; Evans has experience on the enforcement side; and Rinck represents constituents navigating the current climate at the city level.
Events like this one matter because the gap between legal rights and practical reality is wide, and filling it requires exactly the kind of cross-sector conversation this panel represents. The evening is designed for Seattle residents who want to understand both the stakes and their options.