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Washington Dem pushes bill to bar recent ICE hires from future police jobs, slamming Trump's 'occupying force'
By Greg Norman-Diamond
Published January 22, 2026
A Democratic lawmaker in Washington state introduced a bill this week called the ICE Out Act of 2026, which would prohibit state law enforcement agencies from hiring anyone that has taken a job as a sworn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The legislation was introduced by state Rep. Tarra Simmons, who served time for three felony convictions for possession of controlled substances and retail theft in 2011 before having her criminal record cleared.
"In this Washington, we have worked incredibly hard to build trust between law enforcement and community," Simmons said in a press release. "In most Washington agencies, the men and women who step up to serve have developed a culture of holding each other accountable to the highest professional standards. The last thing we need is infiltration of ICE agents trained during the Trump Administration to send us backwards."
"Law enforcement recruitment is paramount, we need more officers," she added. "However, we expect those officers to earn the trust and respect of the communities they live in, not act as an occupying force. This bill is designed to prevent those sorts of dangerous tactics from becoming part of the culture of policing in Washington state."
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Federal law enforcement agents outside a private residence in St. Paul, Minn., on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital on Thursday that, "Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens."
"ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them because of dangerous, untrue smears from elected Democrats. ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism," she added.
KTTH radio host Jason Rantz slammed Simmons’s bill on X.
"This shows the stunning hypocrisy of Democrats. Simmons is a convicted felon who has repeatedly pushed to force people to hire felons or offer them housing. She openly advocates for hardened criminals. Yet when it comes to law enforcement — hardworking Americans who don’t break the law — they should be shamed and discriminated against? It’s absolutely shameful," he told Fox News Digital in a statement Thursday.
A campaign website for Simmons, who was re-elected in 2024, describes her as "a lawyer, a civil rights activist, and a national leader in the fight for criminal justice reform."
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents walk down a street during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago, Ill., on Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"After her incarceration, she experienced firsthand the challenges of re-entry — economic insecurity, housing affordability, and lack of access to healthcare, education, and job skills training," it said.
"Tarra is also a co-founder and consultant for several nonprofits that serve formerly incarcerated people with direct reentry supports, develop leadership capacity and build political power," the website added.
Simmons' office said HB 2641 "prohibits all Washington state law enforcement agencies from hiring anyone who was hired as a sworn officer of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on or after January 20, 2025."
If passed, it would go into effect on Oct. 1.
Demonstrators protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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"Headlines, citizen-captured video, and stories from community-members have documented the inhumane and violent tactics ICE agents use to carry out a sinister dragnet operation," Simmons' press release added. "Agents have been seen breaking the windows of people’s vehicles, snatching individuals off our streets and out of our communities, accessing state data to track people down, detaining undocumented folks, student visa holders, legal green-card residents and U.S. citizens alike without cause, and even shooting and killing legal observers in broad daylight."
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/washington-dem-pushes-bill-bar-recent-ice-hires-future-police-jobs-slamming-trump-occupying-force