A League of Women Voters of Washington position that calls on elected officials to condemn xenophobia, discrimination and anti-immigrant rhetoric is a step closer to becoming a national policy of the nonprofit, nonpartisan League of Women Voters of the United States.

If adopted in June by the national organization, the position also would empower members in more than 800 state and local Leagues to advocate for legislation and establish programs to ensure immigrants—regardless of immigration status or citizenship—have access to essential state-funded services, legal representation, the opportunity to live and work in safety, and to be treated with dignity.

In recent weeks, against a backdrop of an increasing number of assaults by the federal government on immigrants and U.S. citizens supporting immigrants’ rights, the LWVWA has learned that dozens of state and local Leagues support its policy.

“Los Angeles and New York City notified us of their intent to vote for concurrence, along with many local Leagues throughout their states,” said Susan Martin, co-author of the study “Welcoming Immigrants to Washington State” and former Executive Director of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform.

Concurrence is the process used by the League to adopt a position based on the research, consensus, or study materials produced by another League or committee.

Martin, professor emerita of International Migration at Georgetown University, said support from Los Angeles and New York is particularly welcome because both cities are expected to send large delegations to the convention, to be held June 25-28 in Columbus, Ohio.

Delegates to the June convention, where the voting will take place, are not bound by the decisions of their state or local Leagues, but individual delegates tend to vote in alignment with their affiliations.

So far, eight state Leagues also have notified the LWVWA that they support the position, including Illinois and Minnesota, both recent targets of increased federal crackdowns on immigrants. The others include two border-hugging states, Arizona and New Mexico, along with Delaware, Utah and West Virginia.

The Washington state League adopted its position in June 2025 after the two-year “Welcoming Immigrants to Washington State” study led by Martin and Lydia Zepeda.

Martin and Zepeda, along with fellow immigrants study committee members Janet Lenart and Shelley Kneip, invested many hours explaining how concurrence would empower Leagues nationwide to advocate for the protection of the rights of immigrants.

“We continue to reach out to state and local Leagues to urge their support,” Zepeda said. “We continue, too, to hone our arguments to address the skeptics and to respond to questions asked by supporters.”

One out-of-state League already adopted the position independently, months before the convention, so its members could use the LWVWA position immediately to pursue better practices. “It was a request we were happy to fulfill,” Zepeda added.

Nonpartisan since its founding 106 years ago, the League never endorses candidates or political parties. Taking positions on issues, such as the treatment of immigrants, is central to the League’s mission of defending democracy and empowering voters. But the League only takes positions on issues after extensive study and with the agreement—or consensus—of its members.

Other concerns on which the League has adopted policy positions include reproductive rights, health care, environmental protection, education and the protection of democracy.

Two years ago, the national organization also adopted the LWVWA’s position on Local News & Democracy, allowing members across the country to advocate for legislation and other programming to address the local news crisis.