Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Brings Checkpoints and Fear to Washington

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) Federal authorities have set up immigration checkpoints across Washington, D.C. and in key corridors of Washington state in 2025, stepping up stops of drivers and riders as part of President Trump’s renewed crackdown on undocumented immigrants. The push includes roadside checks and new workplace actions.

In one of the most visible ICE raids of the year, agents detained nearly 40 workers at a roofing company in Bellingham on April 2, 2025, deepening fear in immigrant neighborhoods and straining ties between federal and state officials.

Policy changes and executive orders

The latest operations come after a series of executive orders that reset federal enforcement.

• On January 20, 2025, President Trump rescinded several Biden‑era protections, ended civil enforcement priorities that shielded some noncitizens from arrest, and sharply limited access to asylum at the southern border.
• A second order in May 2025 — “Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens” — widened federal authority, with special focus on states that refuse to help immigration agents.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the orders have translated to more stops, more referrals to ICE, and faster movement from arrest to removal in many regions.

Escalating enforcement and the legal clash

As of August 2025, agents have established immigration checkpoints around the nation’s capital and on major and secondary roads across Washington state, including routes within 100 miles of the border with Canada 🇨🇦.

At these sites, officers:

• Stop every vehicle
• Ask about immigration status
• May request documents

The government says agents do not need suspicion to stop a car at a lawful checkpoint. However, longer questioning, searches, and prolonged detention still require reasonable suspicion or probable cause. Cameras and drug‑sniffing dogs are common at these posts.

Washington state, home to an estimated 300,000 undocumented residents, has pushed back. The state’s Keep Washington Working Act limits when local police and jails can share information or hold people for federal immigration purposes.

On August 13, 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded that Governor Bob Ferguson end these sanctuary rules and warned federal law enforcement funding could be cut. State officials, including Attorney General Nick Brown and Governor Ferguson, publicly rejected the demand, calling it an intimidation tactic and pledging to keep state protections in place.

The standoff rests on a long‑running constitutional question. Legal scholars point to the Tenth Amendment’s anti‑commandeering doctrine, affirmed by the Supreme Court in Printz v. United States, which says the federal government cannot force states to carry out federal regulatory programs. Washington leaders argue public safety suffers when local police act as immigration agents, because crime victims and witnesses fear coming forward. Federal officials counter that sanctuary limits “protect criminals” and invite lawlessness, and they argue the executive branch has broad authority to focus national resources where it sees the greatest risk.

Checkpoint procedures and rights under pressure

Immigration checkpoints now affect daily life for many people who live, work, or travel near the border in the United States 🇺🇸. They also impact residents who commute along corridors where tactical checkpoints pop up without much notice. Even inside the country, within that 100‑mile zone, agents can board buses and trains and ask riders about their status.

Advocates warn these practices fall hardest on mixed‑status families and communities of color.

What drivers and riders report aligns with federal procedure:

1. Approach
   • Every vehicle is stopped, and an agent asks the same basic questions about citizenship or status.
2. Questioning
   • Agents may request documents. This brief check should stay focused on immigration status.
3. Secondary inspection
   • If status can’t be confirmed, agents may direct the person to a separate area for more questions.
4. Detention or search
   • To hold someone longer, search a vehicle, or dig deeper, agents must have reasonable suspicion or probable cause and should be able to state it if asked.
5. Legal rights
   • You may remain silent, ask if you’re free to go, and request a lawyer. Refusing to answer could lead to further detention while agents try to verify identity and status.

Community groups say the fear is real:

• Parents are changing school drop‑off routes to avoid known checkpoint spots.
• Workers are carpooling less to reduce risk.
• After the Bellingham action, some employers quietly reviewed I‑9 files and staffing plans, worried about unannounced ICE raids.
• Others say they will stand by long‑time workers but fear losing them in mass arrests that can come with little warning.

Travel, border crossings, and official guidance

The practical effects extend to travel planning. Washington runs traffic cameras and posts wait times at major border crossings. Large ports of entry — including Peace Arch, Pacific Highway, Lynden, and Sumas — run around the clock, and trusted traveler lanes can speed inspection for those enrolled.

Federal guidance on checkpoints and cross‑border rules is available from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. For official information about land border travel and status checks, see CBP’s resources at https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/along-us-borders/immigration-checkpoints.

The White House says the goal is to remove people with criminal records and recent border crossers, and to deter unauthorized entry. But without civil enforcement priorities, long‑settled residents — including parents of U.S. citizen children — also face arrest when they pass through an area with active screening.

Local sheriffs and prosecutors remain split:

• Some conservative officials have asked for more federal help.
• Others defend the state’s sanctuary framework and warn that forced cooperation could increase fear and lower crime reporting.

Washington’s legal team is preparing challenges to any move to cut grants, noting earlier attempts to strip funding from sanctuary jurisdictions were blocked in court. If those fights stretch on, federal agents could still run more immigration checkpoints and expand audits and workplace operations.

Advocates advise families to:

• Keep key documents in a safe place at home.
• Carry proof of lawful presence when available.
• Share a family safety plan in case a loved one is detained.

Practical safety steps during encounters

Officials and attorneys stress plain‑language steps that can help during an encounter:

• Keep calm, keep hands visible, and don’t run.
• Provide ID only if required by law; you do not have to hand over extra papers unless an officer has the legal basis to demand them.
• If you’re a U.S. citizen, you may say so. If you are unsure about your status, you can say you want to speak to a lawyer.
• Ask, “Am I free to go?” If the answer is yes, leave calmly. If no, remain silent and ask for an attorney.

While the laws are complex, the human stakes are simple: families are trying to get kids to school, keep jobs, and move safely through their communities. For now, the rules on the ground are changing fast, and the people who feel it most are the ones already living with the most risk.