A coalition of advocacy organizations called for the resignation of the director of the Department of Licensing (DOL) after it became known that the state agency gave information on undocumented immigrants to federal officials.
This violated Gov. Jay Inslee’s executive order (EO) forbidding the use of state resources to identify or apprehend people for breaking federal civil immigration laws, and Director Pat Kohler should be held to account, the organizations said in a press release.
“This agency is lacking in effective leadership and people have been harmed as a result,” the signatories said in the press release.
The Seattle Times reported that the DOL was feeding federal officials information 20 to 30 times each month, despite the EO signed just a year ago.
“We support the Executive Order, but failed to meet the governor’s intent regarding the protection of this type of information,” Kohler said in a press release. “We are sorry that our work did not align with our state’s values.”
Deputy Director Jeff DeVere resigned over the scandal.
Ashley Archibald is a Staff Reporter covering local government, policy and equity. Have a story idea? She can be can reached at ashleya (at) realchangenews (dot) org. Twitter @AshleyA_RC
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