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Washington state exploring options to fight to Trump's travel ban

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Washington state exploring options to fight to Trump's travel ban


Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown said his office is taking a careful look at the Trump administration’s new travel ban and considering whether the state has a legal basis to challenge it.

“We know that this order will affect so many families in Washington,” Brown said at a press conference Tuesday. “This ban sweeps up medical patients, students, and families and people fleeing persecution. Those people are not [a] national security risk.”

RELATED: Trump’s travel ban is now in effect. Here’s what to know

The ban took effect Monday, barring people from 12 countries from entering the U.S. and adding partial restrictions for seven other countries.

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Brown said his office is “actively looking at ways to challenge this ban, but it will be difficult.” He referred to a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld a travel ban during President Donald Trump’s first administration. It initially targeted seven majority-Muslim countries before a series of legal challenges led to some revisions.

“The court has gotten increasingly hostile to challenges like the one that may be necessary here, because the Supreme Court has, frankly, gotten worse since 2017,” Brown said.

Gov. Bob Ferguson said his office is closely working with the AG’s office and other organizations to monitor how the ban affects Washington residents from the targeted countries who may face new barriers to entering or reentering the U.S. So far, just one day in, responses have been mostly muted at airports and border entry points, in contrast to chaos that erupted at various airports when the first travel ban in 2017 left many foreign travelers in limbo.

Trump said the ban is necessary for national security.

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According to his administration, some of the countries on the list need to improve their vetting processes and communication about security concerns. The executive order also says some countries are on the list because they’ve previously refused deportations.

Hamdi Mohamed is a commissioner for the Port of Seattle, which is tasked with managing Seattle’s international entry points, like Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where the impacts will be felt most. Mohamed said the commission is calling for more transparency in how federal officials enforce these bans at the airport. But it’ll also have an impact within communities living in the U.S., she said. That includes first- and second-generation immigrants.

RELATED: Seattle protesters block ICE vans from leaving immigration court

In addition to her work at the Port of Seattle, Mohamed is also the director of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs for the City of Seattle. She is from Somalia, which was among the countries targeted during Trump’s last term. The current travel restrictions affect predominantly African and Muslim countries, including Somalia.

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“[The travel ban] deepens mistrust. It sends a message that some communities will always be treated with suspicion, regardless of how long they’ve called the United States home or how much they’ve contributed,” she said.

Port authorities expect people from countries on the banned or restricted list will be stopped before they get on a plane to the U.S., but it’s still unclear how that will actually play out in the coming days.

Late last month, Port commissioners also raised their concerns about people who had been held at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility at the airport for an extended period of time. People are only supposed to be held there for a maximum of 72 hours, according to a joint statement commissioners that cited federal standards. Prolonged detention without appropriate process, they said, undermines public trust.

Malou Chávez, the executive director for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, said she’s especially concerned about people who have been given asylum in the U.S. and are now trying to get their families here from banned countries. Part of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project’s work includes family reunification efforts for people from some of those countries, like Afghanistan.

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“It’s just going to lead to further suffering of our communities. It also sends a clear message of who is welcome and who is unwanted in this country,” she said.

RELATED: A Seattle immigration attorney on ICE and your rights

Chávez said her organization is working with people who have been waiting overseas and have been given federal authorization to travel here. Now, it’s unclear if they’ll face additional hurdles when they attempt to come to the U.S.

For the Washington Attorney General’s Office, the legal fight ahead is only a part of the equation.

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Speaking to a crowd of immigrants and their advocates, Brown said there are other ways to address what he calls “dictatorial” and “fascist” actions by the Trump administration against immigrants.

“We need to use our love and our character as well in this moment,” Brown said. “Because it’s going to take all of these things, pulling together to reject the hate that we are seeing from Donald Trump, to reject the lawlessness that we are seeing from Donald Trump, and to reaffirm that the people in this country deserve to be here, and they add value to our state and to our entire nation.”



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19-Year-Old Transgender University of Washington Student Fatally Stabbed

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19-Year-Old Transgender University of Washington Student Fatally Stabbed


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This story contains descriptions of fatal violence against a transgender person.

The Seattle Police Department are searching for a suspect after a 19-year-old University of Washington student was stabbed to death in an off-campus student apartment complex on May 10.

Seattle Police Department Detective Eric Muñoz told NBC News that the victim is “believed to be a 19-year-old transgender female” who was enrolled at the university. The victim has not yet been publicly identified by name. She was found in the housing complex laundry room shortly after 10 p.m. on Sunday night.

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The housing complex, Nordheim Court, is privately managed but affiliated with the university, located near an upscale shopping center in Seattle’s U-Village neighborhood. According to NBC News, residents received an official alert from UW to stay inside their homes and lock all windows and doors — an alert that was lifted around 1 a.m. with the acknowledgment that “a death investigation remains ongoing.”

According to SPD detective Eric Muñoz, police and the fire department attempted lifesaving measures but ultimately “pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.”

“Officers are actively searching for the suspect, believed to be a black male with a beard, 5’6-8” tall, wearing a vest with button up shirt, and blue jeans,” Muñoz wrote in a blotter report.

Muñoz noted that the victim would be identified by the medical examiner’s office in “the coming days.” The SPD did not immediately respond to Them’s request for comment.

This is the seventh known trans person to be violently killed in 2026. In mid-April, 39-year-old transmasculine farmer Luca RedBeard was fatally shot in rural New Mexico. Last week, police in Marion County, Florida opened a homicide investigation into the shooting death of a 29-year-old who went by multiple names and referred to “transitioning” on social media. In Kentucky, an investigation into the disappearance of 22-year-old trans college student Murry Foust remains ongoing.

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Police are asking anyone with information about the University of Washington case to call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000, emphasizing that anonymous tips are accepted.

This is a developing story.

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How the Sea Mar Museum Is Preserving Latino History in Washington

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How the Sea Mar Museum Is Preserving Latino History in Washington


On a quiet stretch of Des Moines Memorial Drive in South Seattle, the Sea Mar Museum of Chicano/a/Latino/a Culture rises like a long‑overdue acknowledgment. Its brick exterior doesn’t shout; it invites. Inside, the rooms hum with the stories of families who crossed borders, harvested fields, organized classrooms, and built communities across Washington state—often without seeing their histories reflected anywhere on a museum wall.

For Rogelio Riojas, founder and CEO of Sea Mar Community Health Centers, the museum is a promise kept. “We wanted to make sure the contributions of Latinos in Washington state are recognized and preserved for future generations,” he told The Seattle Times when the museum opened in 2019. It was a simple statement, but one that captured decades of work—both visible and invisible—by the region’s Latino communities.


Walking through the galleries feels like stepping into a living archive. One of the most arresting sights is a pair of original farmworker cabins, transported from Eastern Washington. Their narrow wooden frames and sparse interiors speak volumes about the migrant families who once slept inside after long days in the fields. The cabins are not replicas or artistic interpretations; they are the real thing, weathered by sun, dust, and time. They anchor the museum’s narrative in the physical realities of labor that shaped the state’s agricultural economy.

Sea Mar describes the museum as “dedicated to sharing the history, struggles, and successes of the Latino community in Washington state,” a mission that plays out in photographs, letters, student newspapers, and oral histories contributed by community members themselves. These aren’t artifacts chosen from afar—they’re family treasures, personal archives, and memories entrusted to the museum so they can live beyond the kitchen tables and shoeboxes where they were once kept.

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The story extends beyond the museum walls. Just steps away is the Sea Mar Community Center, a sweeping, light‑filled gathering space designed for celebrations, performances, workshops, and community events. With room for nearly 500 people, a full stage, a movie‑theater‑sized screen, and a catering kitchen, the center was built with one purpose: to give the community a place to see itself, gather, and grow. Sea Mar describes it as “a welcoming space for families, organizations, and community groups to gather, celebrate, and learn,” and on any given weekend, it lives up to that promise.

Together, the museum and community center form a cultural campus—part historical archive, part living room for the region’s Latino communities. Students come to learn about the Chicano activists who reshaped the University of Washington in the late 1960s. Families come to see their own histories reflected in the exhibits. Visitors come to understand a story that has long been present in Washington, even if it wasn’t always visible.

The Sea Mar Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., offering free admission to anyone who walks through its doors. For many, it’s more than a museum—it’s a recognition, a gathering place, and a testament to the people who helped shape the Pacific Northwest.

Preserving Latino History and Community Life in Washington was first published on Washington Latino News (WALN) and republished with permission.



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Mother’s Day Bunch at Lady Madison | Washington DC

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Mother’s Day Bunch at Lady Madison | Washington DC


Celebrate Mother’s Day with à la carte brunch at Lady Madison featuring seafood, entrées, desserts, and premium beverage options.

Celebrate Mother’s Day in sophisticated style at Lady Madison, located inside Le Méridien Washington, DC, The Madison. Join us on Sunday, May 10, 2026, from 12:00–3:00 PM for an elevated à la carte brunch experience in downtown Washington, DC.

Enjoy a refined selection of chef-driven brunch classics, fresh seafood, seasonal salads, and elegant entrées. Highlights include a Build Your Own Omelette, Crab Benedict with lime hollandaise, Chilled Seafood Trio, and signature mains such as Roasted Rack of Lamb, Cedar Plank Sea Bass, and Marinated New York Strip Loin.

End on a sweet note with classic desserts including Crème Brûlée Cheesecake, Fruit Tart, Strawberry Shortcake, and Passion Fruit Cake.

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Enhance your experience with beverage offerings, including bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Marys for $30 with house selections. Piper-Heidsieck Champagne is also available by the glass for $16 or by the bottle for $49.

Reserve on OpenTable:
https://www.opentable.com/booking/experiences-availability?rid=1426987&restref=1426987&experienceId=695240&utm_source=external&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=shared

À La Carte Menu

Les Œufs & Brunch
Egg White Frittata — $24
spinach, tomato, mushrooms, green onion
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit

Build Your Own Omelette — $24
ham, smoked salmon, vegetables, cheeses (choose up to 3)
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit

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Crab Benedict — $24
lime hollandaise, salsa cruda
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit

Brioche French Toast — $17
berry compote, whipped butter, maple syrup

Les Froids & Salades
Chilled Seafood Trio — $28
Jonah crab claws, shrimp, cocktail sauce

Spring Berry Salad — $17
brie, berries, champagne vinaigrette

Golden & Crimson Beet Salad — $18
red wine vinaigrette
Add protein: shrimp, salmon, skirt steak +18 | chicken +16

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Les Plats Principaux
Roasted Rack of Lamb — $42
mint sauce, huckleberry reduction, sweet potato purée, asparagus

Cedar Plank Sea Bass — $49
saffron rice, spring vegetables

New York Strip Loin — $42
mushroom sauce, truffle croquette potatoes, haricots verts

Les Desserts — $14
Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
Fruit Tart
Strawberry Shortcake
Passion Fruit Cake

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