Resources
Help for immigrants and families
Lawyers, hotlines, rights, and family plans in Washington. Choose your language above for materials written in it.
Café Gratis is not a legal service. These are separate organizations, each checked on its own website in November 2026. Things change, so call before you go.
Where do I start?
If you feel overwhelmed, start with one of these. They can point you to the right help.
WAISN hotline
Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network. Report ICE activity or get help after someone is detained. Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. English and Spanish, with interpreters for other languages.
WAISN Resource Finder
More than a thousand vetted services across Washington, searchable by need and county.
Washington 211
Help finding food, housing, utilities, and health care near you. 24 hours, with interpreters in many languages.
What are my rights?
Know your rights with immigration (WAISN)
A short flyer on your rights if you meet immigration officers.
Red cards (ILRC)
Pocket cards to carry. Hand one to an officer to assert your rights without speaking. In 59 languages.
Know your rights (NWIRP)
Flyers, immigration court guides, and videos from Washington's largest immigration legal nonprofit.
Keep Washington Working (WAISN)
Your rights under Washington's law limiting how local agencies help with immigration enforcement.
Where can I find an immigration lawyer?
Free help is scarce, so call several. Never pay a notario or anyone who isn't a lawyer or accredited representative.
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)
Free legal help for low-income immigrants, with offices across the state.
Get helpSeattle 206-587-4009Toll-free 800-445-5771Tacoma 253-235-9279Granger 509-854-2100Wenatchee 509-570-0054
Catholic Immigration Legal Services
Immigration legal help for Washington residents. Serves people in Spanish, French, Russian, Dari, and Pashto.
Safe Route Immigration
Lutheran Community Services Northwest. Offices in Seattle and SeaTac. Serves people in Spanish, Russian, Dari, and Pashto.
Colectiva Legal del Pueblo
Burien. Immigration legal help in Spanish and English.
Entre Hermanos
Immigration legal help for LGBTQ+ Latinos. Free consultations on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
El Centro de la Raza legal clinic
Free bilingual clinic on the second Wednesday of each month, January to November. Leave a message to sign up.
International Rescue Committee, Seattle
Immigration legal services for refugees and immigrants.
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
Lawyers for children who are in immigration proceedings without a parent.
Find a private lawyer
Directories of immigration lawyers and accredited non-lawyer representatives.
How do I check a lawyer or report a problem?
Washington State Bar Association
Check that a lawyer is licensed, or report a concern about one.
Accredited representatives (EOIR)
Non-lawyers allowed to represent you must be on this federal list.
I was a client of the Lozano law firm. What now?
Help for former Lozano clients (WSBA)
What the state bar says former clients should do, and where to get help.
Where can I get free help with other legal problems?
For housing, family, debt, and benefits problems. These don't take immigration cases.
Northwest Justice Project CLEAR line
Free civil legal help by phone, Monday to Friday, 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. In King County, call 211 first.
King County Bar Association
Free neighborhood legal clinics. Immigration help there is a paid referral.
My asylum case was pretermitted. How can I defend myself?
Pretermission explained (National Immigration Project)
What it means when a judge ends an asylum case without a hearing, and what you can do. April 2026.
Someone I know was detained. What can I do?
People detained near Seattle are often held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. Work through these steps.
1. Call the WAISN hotline
Report what happened. WAISN can connect the family with support.
2. Find them
ICE's online locator needs their A-number and country of birth, or full name and country of birth.
3. Visit and send messages
Northwest ICE Processing Center, 1623 East J Street, Tacoma, WA 98421. Call to leave a message or schedule a visit. NWIRP's family guide explains visiting hours and rules.
4. Call NWIRP's detention line
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. For someone held at the Tacoma detention center, or their family. Leave a message with the person's name and A-number.
5. Add money to their account
Deposits go through the detention center's provider, online, by phone, or in person. See NWIRP's family guide.
6. Work for their release
WAISN's bond fund helps pay immigration bonds. Habeas tools help people held without a bond hearing.
WAISN bond fundHabeas help (detentionhelp.org)Habeas toolkit (Columbia Legal)
7. Go to their court hearings
Check hearing dates online or by phone, 24 hours, in English and Spanish.
8. Connect with AIDNW
Advocates for Immigrants in Detention Northwest runs visits and a welcome center for people just released, Monday to Friday, 1 to 5 p.m.
Find a lawyer near the detention center
A national directory you can search by detention facility.
If they drove to a check-in
A car left in the lot can be towed, and fees add up every day. When you reach them, ask who may move it. Café Gratis volunteers may be able to help.
How do I make a family safety plan?
Plan now for who cares for your children, your money, and your belongings if you are detained.
Immigrant Safety Plan (Legal Counsel for Youth and Children)
A plan for children's care, with free virtual appointments to help you fill it out.
Deportation Preparation Manual (Appleseed)
Step by step planning for child care, money, and property.
Family preparedness plan (ILRC)
A step by step plan. Written for California, so check Washington's rules on caregivers and guardianship with a lawyer.
ReadyNow app (Human Rights First)
A free app to store your emergency plan and alert your contacts with one tap.
If a family is separated (Georgetown University)
A guide for parents and helpers working to reunite a family.
What do I need to keep up with in my case?
Check your hearing date
The immigration court's case status, online or by phone, 24 hours, in English and Spanish.
Report a new address to the court
Use form EOIR-33 every time you move.
Report a new address to USCIS
Within 10 days of moving, through your USCIS account or Form AR-11.
Report a new address to ICE
ICE's online portal also shows appointments and court hearings.
Pay the annual asylum fee
Asylum applicants now owe a yearly fee. ASAP explains how much, and how to pay USCIS or the court.
Contact ICE's lawyers (OPLA)
Contacts for each ICE legal office, including Seattle.
Asylum videos (City of Seattle)
Short videos on the asylum process, in Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Choose your language above.
I've decided to leave the U.S. What should I know?
Talk to a lawyer before you sign anything. Some papers can bar you from returning for years.
What am I signing? (National Immigration Project)
The forms people are pressed to sign to leave, and how to undo one signed under pressure.
Voluntary departure (immigration court)
The court's own self-help guide.
Voluntary departure explained (IRC)
Risks of voluntary departure and self-deportation.
A New Path (Education Justice Project)
Planning before deportation, and rebuilding life after it in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Venezuela.
Help returning home (IOM)
The UN migration agency's free, confidential assisted voluntary return.
Bienvenido a Casa (El Salvador)
El Salvador's reception program for returning citizens.
Where can I get food, housing, and health care?
Washington 211
Help finding food, housing, utilities, and health care near you. 24 hours, with interpreters in many languages.
Apple Health Expansion
Enrollment is closed for adults. Children, and people who are pregnant or just gave birth, can still get Apple Health whatever their status.
Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (DSHS)
State programs for refugees and immigrants.
City of Seattle immigrant resources
Legal, housing, jobs, English classes, and utility help.
Jewish Family Service
Refugee and immigrant services in Seattle.
ReWA
Services for refugee and immigrant women and families.
InterIm CDA
Wellspring Family Services
Bridge Washington
Villa Comunitaria
Who can go with me to check-ins or court?
Volunteer accompaniment. They don't give legal advice.
WAISN accompaniment (statewide)
Volunteers who go with people to ICE check-ins and court.
World Relief Western Washington (Kent)
A welcome center for people just released from detention.
Jefferson and Clallam counties: JCIRA
Kitsap County: Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center
Pacific, Grays Harbor, and Wahkiakum: PCIS
Tri-Cities Immigrant Coalition
Yakima Immigrant Response Network
Afghan Evac Battle Buddies (nationwide)
Veteran volunteers who accompany Afghan evacuees.
Community groups by language
Congolese Community of Washington
Help in French, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba, and Portuguese.
Congolese Integration Network
SeaTac.
Somali Family Safety Task Force
Support for Somali families.
Casa Latina
Seattle worker center for Latino immigrants.
El Centro de la Raza
Seattle community center serving Latino families.