Thursday, October 1, 2026
Olympia, I'm proud of you.
When new federal immigration regulations arrived in 2025, Olympia chose to remain a sanctuary city — even as nearby communities stepped away. In the two years before that vote, more than 150 refugee families were legally resettled here through just one approved agency, World Relief.
And in the last month, hundreds of you have stood outside the Washington State Capitol protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions and standing with immigrant and refugee neighbors.
One story stays with me: a downtown bar hired a refugee dishwasher whose faith prohibits contact with alcohol. Instead of turning him away, the team adjusted their workflow to support him. Some may ask why someone with those restrictions would work in a bar at all.
The answer is that many highly educated immigrants and refugees — engineers, physicians, professors — cannot find work in their fields. Not just because of language, but because of systemic barriers: unrecognized foreign credentials, unfamiliar workplace norms, the trauma of displacement, cultural or religious differences, and employers hesitant to make small accommodations.
So engineers wash dishes. Professors clean offices. Physicians take night shift jobs far below their training.
Olympia, I'm dissappointed in you, too.
Changes to immigration laws have been in discussion since late 2024. Yet, widespread outrage only surfaced when white residents were harmed in ICE encounters. Meanwhile, our Black, brown, and immigrant neighbors have been living with these consequences for more than a year. Where was this collective urgency then?
My husband and I have worked with legally resettled families for years. The U.S. “work first, adjust later” mindset often clashes with cultures centered on family, healing, and community.
Many newcomers arrive after surviving war, violence, and sudden displacement. They enter a job market they don’t yet understand, with few social networks and systems not built for them. The downtown bar story is an exception — most employers won’t adjust training, schedules, or communication styles, even when the tools exist.
One family we know fled at enormous personal cost: two grandparents lost their pensions; the mother is a trained physician; the grandfather a horticulture specialist; the grandmother a college professor. All now work as cleaners and dishwashers in Thurston County. We miss out on their expertise not just because of language, but because our systems fail to recognize credentials, allow time for resettlement, or meet people where they are.
Here are practical steps you can take today to support our immigrant and refugee neighbors:
Arielle Long is a resident of Lacey.
The opinions expressed above are those of the writers and not necessarily those of The JOLT's staff or board of directors. Got something to say about a topic of interest to Thurston County residents? Send it to us and we’ll most likely publish it. Click here to email to us.
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11B4ever
We need more ICE in our communities. We need a bigger wall at the southern border. Run the illegals out!
Friday, February 20 Report this
franiazgorski
Arielle, thank you for your commitment to building a diverse and compassionate community in Olympia. I don’t live there, but reading your piece meant a lot to me. It’s encouraging to know there are people who not only see the challenges immigrant and refugee families face, but also choose to stand with them in real, practical ways. Your advocacy, honesty, and empathy shine through, and it gives me hope to know communities like yours exist.
Friday, February 20 Report this
terry
I believe this article is intended to be constructive and not just another effort to whitewash illegal migration. Just think about the resources that could be available for legitimate immigrants if billions were not diverted for purposes of welfare assistance and the apprehension of uninvited and oft criminal aliens.
Friday, February 20 Report this
chrispc2u
I’m a Democrat, but we need a better national immigration plan than “the door’s open, c’mon in!”. This isn’t the early 1900s. We lost the last election because of that mindset, so why wouldn’t we pay attention to what voters want as a nation. Canada has a more stringent immigration policy. An immigrant needs to meet a baseline of qualifications to enter there and gain citizenship.. Crossing a border river from Mexico and gaining illegal entry is not meeting a baseline. The planet is shrinking as the global population explodes. I don’t want or need immigrants who trash their own environment coming to mine and crapping in it because they’re too poor to care or respect it. Yes, Olympia has a history as a liberal town, but that demographic has changed since the 60s. There’s more military citizens living in adjacent Lacey now. The downtown core hasn’t fully recovered from COVID. Homeless and druggies roam the streets like zombies. Do I think ICE should invade our town and
ignore the Constitution with their tactics? No. But Democrats need to wake up and find a balance or the Republicans are going to continue to ride roughshod over common sense and the Constitution.
Friday, February 20 Report this
Tanker1982
I will disagree a bit, with the writer. I/we the people, will fully support legal immigration. All illegal emigrants , who overwhelm our systems and raise our taxes, will be sent home
Friday, February 20 Report this
hptrillium
Thanks Arielle, for your excellent article. ICE is detaining and deporting legal immigrants and citizens in horrible inhumane conditions. They are contributing members of our community , taxpayers and not criminals for the most part. This is like when the Nazis put people in concentration camps. We have to resist this madness or regret it later when they come for us.
ICE are the outlaws not the immigrants.
Saturday, February 21 Report this
TheVirtualOne
hptrillium - you’re a drama queen. If you’re not in this country via the immigration process, you don’t belong here. Most of what “I’m a Democrat” said above is spot on. Wake up.
Saturday, February 21 Report this
nicolechrya
so amazing when I lost my state government job of 6 years because I am a single mom and couldn't afford daycare with rising rent I was let go and evicted and told to live in a tent for a month to get in to a shelter with my 11 year old and being pregnant. I am so happy to know you can come to our city and be provided housing and glad to be sent to my tent in a homeless camp while they get full apartments and hotels to live in while bars and businesses are going so far to make accommodations for them that they literally will keep alcohol away from them to work... in a BAR... yet my employer (the state government) couldn't change my schedule by 15 minutes at a 24 hour operation run hospital so I could keep my job and house before being told to live in a tent! good job Olympia! i only grew up here, worked in our own government for 6 years and have been employed lawfully for over 25 years!!!! glad we have our priorities
Saturday, February 21 Report this
JW
Leftists intentionally conflate illegal aliens with valid immigrants that went through the process. They are not the same. They willfully support criminals staying in this country to terrorize innocent people. Support ICE and get them out.
Saturday, February 21 Report this
Taxpayer
I am so disgusted by the continual reference to "immigrant/refugee" population as if all immigrants came here legally and bring positive value. If this was the case, then why do we need to be a "sanctuary city"? If all the immigrants were skilled professionals and willing to work, there would be no need to have a sanctuary space.
It used to be, when my wife and family escaped their communist run country, that there were many requirements to even get across the border. Including a sponsor, a guaranteed full-time employment a requirement not to have broken any of our laws and not to receive any government provided social services. Even with these requirements there were plenty of immigrants that would risk their lives, leave all their assets and extended families to have the opportunity to participate in this country.
I wish people would stop lumping all "immigrants" into the same category.......IT JUST ISN'T THE CASE!
Saturday, February 21 Report this
LindaD
According to unrefugees.org (the UN Refugee Agency) there are 117 million refugees in the world today. That would fill some 1,900 cities the size of Olympia. Think about that the next time you see an "all are welcome" sign. To suggest we are a "Sanctuary City" who "welcomes all" creates a farce. We become a parody of ourselves.
Every refugee is homeless upon arrival. Do we mean to house refugees prior to our existing homeless? Do we mean to employ refugees when there are so many now seeking work? Are we claiming our unemployed are "unwilling to work" so we need refugees to fill jobs or do we mean we want plenty of cheap, easily exploited labor to keep costs down for employers?
To toss out platitudes like "Sanctuary City" and "all are welcome" without thinking through the associated difficult questions shows contempt for the community. In this case, "The Community" means the taxpayers and residents.
Sunday, February 22 Report this
HappyOlympian
"Yet, widespread outrage only surfaced when white residents were harmed in ICE encounters."
Pure bunk. My issue with the extreme Left - the truth has so much to offer, yet they must add such distortions to back an argument. As for immigrants working below their education level, that is the story of humanity for the last 5,000 years. Overall, this bit of fluff an excruciating read.
Monday, February 23 Report this
Yeti1981
I appreciate the heart behind this piece. Refugees who are lawfully resettled here have endured extraordinary hardship, and many arrive with education, skills, and a deep desire to rebuild their lives. Our credentialing systems often fail to integrate foreign-trained professionals efficiently, and that is a loss for them and for our community.
But we need to be clear about the bigger picture.
There have not been sweeping new immigration laws passed by Congress that fundamentally rewrote the system in 2025. What has changed in recent years has largely been executive policy and enforcement posture. The underlying statutory framework has remained mostly untouched for decades.
And that is the real problem.
Congress has failed to seriously modernize immigration law for more than half a century. Instead of legislating clearly and directly, lawmakers of both parties have allowed the executive branch to stretch broad statutory language to manage crises that Congress refuses to resolve. Then, when enforcement shifts under a different administration, those same lawmakers feign outrage for campaign purposes.
That cycle has eroded public trust.
It is also critical to distinguish between federally vetted, lawfully resettled refugees and unlawful entry. Refugees processed through approved agencies are here legally. That is not the same category as crossing the border outside the legal framework. Blurring those lines fuels polarization instead of solving anything.
At the same time, local capacity matters. Thurston County is already struggling with housing affordability, homelessness, and strained public services. If we want to welcome newcomers well, we must align immigration levels with housing supply, workforce integration, and infrastructure planning. Compassion without capacity planning creates backlash. Enforcement without humanity creates injustice.
Olympia can support lawful immigration, insist on constitutional due process, and demand a serious national immigration overhaul at the same time. Those positions are not contradictory. They are what responsible governance looks like.
The hard truth is that until Congress does its job and writes a modern, coherent immigration framework, we will continue to lurch between executive actions and political outrage. And communities like ours will keep absorbing the consequences.
Monday, February 23 Report this
franiazgorski
LindaD.. You’re mixing two completely different groups. The 117 million figure refers to global displaced people — not the people who arrived during the border surge. Refugees who come through the U.S. program (Ukrainians, Bosnians, Somalis, etc.) arrive by plane with housing already arranged through federal resettlement agencies. They don’t use local homeless shelters and they don’t take housing from anyone in Olympia.
The people who arrived during the border surge are a separate group with a separate legal process, and their situation shouldn’t be used to rewrite what “refugee” means.
Using refugee statistics to support a housing and employment argument about border‑surge arrivals mixes categories and creates fear without reflecting how the systems actually work.
Friday, February 27 Report this
KatAshe
I for one am saddened to read so much anger in the replies. Nowhere in this story was there mention about supporting those who entered the country illegally. I’m truly sorry Nichola lost her government job do to policies that have nothing to do with immigration.
Please remember, after the Korean War children of American soldiers unlike the children of soldiers of all other countries were denied coming to America. After the Vietnam and Afghan wars, citizens of those countries who had risk their and their family’s lives working for out country, were forced to the most part abandoned.
Yes, I agree with those who complain about our immigration policies, they’re terrible, but many who rightfully deserve to be here are denied.
For Nicola who couldn’t find affordable child care, who do you think takes those extreme low paying jobs? We have a massive physician shortage in America, but don’t find a way to get foreign physicians reasonably, quickly certified to practice. Who do all of you letter writers think growers and harvests, and butchers the vast majority of our food?
Monday, March 2 Report this
CobraCommander
You didn't get a wall.
You didn't get a drained swamp.
You didn't get affordable healthcare.
You didn't get an eliminated national debt.
You didn't get new infrastructure.
You didn't get Hillary Clinton locked up.
You didn't get Epstein accountability.
You didn't get a $5k DOGE check.
You didn't get a $2k tariff stimulus check.
You didn't get lower grocery prices.
You didn't get help buying a home.
You didn't get America First.
You didn't get peace.
You lost family, friends, respect, and credibility.
You got what you voted for.
Sunday, March 15 Report this