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On Feb. 23, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee signed Executive Order 17-01. The order came just three days after the Department of Homeland Security released a memorandum implementing President Trump鈥檚 executive order to expedite deportations. Inslee鈥檚 order clarifies what data state agencies are allowed to collect about religion and immigration status and mandates that state agencies and law enforcement not assist the federal government with civil immigration law enforcement (the state will still assist with criminal immigration law enforcement).

Protecting documented and undocumented immigrants is not simply a moral action.

鈥淭his executive order makes clear that Washington will not be a willing participant in promoting or carrying out mean-spirited policies that break up families and compromise our national security and, importantly, our community safety,鈥� Inslee said at a press conference announcing his order.

Inslee鈥檚 executive order comes on the heels of several bills introduced by Democrats in the state Legislature in February that address data collection and disclosure, discrimination, and the role of state agencies and law enforcement in federal immigration enforcement. Inslee and his colleagues argue that protecting documented and undocumented immigrants is not simply a moral action. They say that doing so is critical for the stability and success of Washington鈥檚 economy because immigrants account for a significant portion of the state鈥檚 workforce.

None of the bills made it out of their respective committees in the House or Senate before a key calendar cut off. As such, the bills are effectively dead. But the details of the proposed legislation illustrate what state laws might do to stem deportation and why it makes good economic sense to do so. As federal action around immigration continues to evolve at a mile a minute, state-level legal action may prove to be an important tool for advocates and activists opposing Trump鈥檚 immigration agenda.

The economic case for protecting immigrants in Washington

Preceding Inslee鈥檚 executive order were several bills aimed at protecting Washington immigrants from the federal government. Senator Guy Palumbo sponsored a bill to limit disclosure of information about religious affiliation. Representative Lillian Ortiz-Self sponsored a bill to address discrimination based on citizenship and immigration status.

Senator Lisa Wellman鈥檚 bill鈥攃alled the Keep Washington Working Act鈥攚ould have limited state agencies鈥� data collection of immigrants and barred state and local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration enforcement. Proponents of Wellman鈥檚 bill argued that losing immigrants would devastate the Washington economy.

Losing immigrants would devastate the Washington economy.

鈥淚鈥檓 a business woman,鈥� Wellman said at a Feb. 16 Senate committee hearing about the bill. 鈥淚 know personally that immigrants play a vital role in this state鈥檚 economy. 鈥� If we鈥檙e going to keep Washington鈥檚 economy thriving, we must provide a sense of security for all of our workers.鈥�

One in 7 Washington residents is an immigrant, according to the American Immigration Council. In 2013, immigrants made up 17 percent of the state鈥檚 workforce. A 2009 report from immigrant rights nonprofit One America found that immigrant families contributed $1.5 billion in tax revenue to the state in 2007, accounting for 13.2 percent of all taxes paid that year. If Washington鈥檚 undocumented workers were deported, the state would lose nearly $14.5 billion in economic activity, according to a 2008 report from financial analysts The Perryman Group.

There are immigrants in every level of Washington鈥檚 economy, from laborers to tech workers to business owners and entrepreneurs. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing鈥攚hich contributed a collective $6.8 billion to the state鈥檚 2015 GDP鈥攚ould take a particularly big hit without an immigrant workforce; immigrant workers (primarily from Latin America) account for 62.5 percent of workers in those industries in the state, according to the One America report.

In the Senate hearing, Wellman told a story about Microsoft and Amazon representatives relating their concerns about an immigration crackdown. According to her, 33 percent of Microsoft employees in Washington are on work visas, and 75 of them were from countries listed on Trump鈥檚 travel ban.

鈥淗earing that Microsoft is considering moving these employees to Canada and expanding their footprint there because of a potentially hostile work environment in Washington was deeply troubling. These are high-paying tax professionals that we鈥檙e going to lose if we don鈥檛 support them,鈥� Wellman said.

Legal protection for immigrants in Washington

The Keep Washington Working Act would have mandated that no state agency, including law enforcement, could assist federal immigration enforcement efforts or collect and share data about immigration status, religious affiliation, or citizenship.

If Washington鈥檚 undocumented workers were deported, the state would lose nearly $14.5 billion in economic activity.

Elisabeth Smith, the ACLU of Washington鈥檚 legislative director, says that states鈥� legal power rests in their ability to prohibit data collection in the first place. The ACLU of Washington supported Wellman鈥檚 bill. 鈥淚t is an established fact that the federal government cannot compel state workers to gather information for them,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut once information has been gathered and is retained, the [federal] government can seek access to that information.鈥�

鈥淓nforcement depends on access to information to some extent,鈥� Smith added. 鈥淚f a state decides not to provide that information 鈥� that job for federal immigration enforcement is more difficult potentially.鈥�

The Keep Washington Working Act would have helped create a friendlier environment for immigrant residents to work and participate in the state economy, said Maru Mora Villapando, of Latino Advocacy. The bill would have had an 鈥渋mmense [positive] impact,鈥� Villalpando said. 鈥淸Immigrants] are so afraid. They鈥檙e not leaving home, not going to health care appointments, not going to the police. If people don鈥檛 go out and consume, the economy collapses. It鈥檚 as simple as that.鈥�

Executive action in Washington state

Keep Washington Working Act鈥檚 influence on Inslee鈥檚 executive order is clear. The order highlights the contributions of immigrants to Washington鈥檚 workforce, economy, and tax revenue (as well as their cultural and social impact). It also uses language similar to the bills of Wellman, Ortiz-Self, and Palumbo to set guidelines for state agencies around data collection and immigration enforcement.

At the Feb. 23 press conference, Nick Brown, Inslee鈥檚 general counsel, explained that the order is meant to clarify the state鈥檚 existing policies.

Trump鈥檚 immigration action will impact immigrant communities regardless of state opposition.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 dramatically change existing state law or polices,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to make sure state agencies are acting in accordance with the law and not responding to these damaging changes we鈥檝e seen from the federal government.鈥�

State law and policy can only do so much as a bulwark against federal immigration enforcement. But Villalpando said it鈥檚 important that the state do what it can.

鈥淚CE can do whatever they want. The point here is this country still has laws. That has been proven again and again. States have independence and are autonomous. 鈥� If the political climate is calling for mass deportation, raids, [and the] exclusion of immigrants, the state should be able to enact policy [to] make sure federal policy doesn鈥檛 hurt us.鈥�

As Villalpando said, and the recent spate of ICE raids around the country have shown, Trump鈥檚 immigration action will impact immigrant communities regardless of state opposition. Still, some Washington Democrats say they have an economic and moral obligation to fight back.

Pointing to the recent 75th anniversary of the Japanese-American internment, Sen. Rebecca Salda帽a, one of the Keep Washington Working Act鈥檚 co-sponsors, said, 鈥淔ear and racism and the idea of national security can overcome our federal government鈥檚 commitment to the Constitution and human rights. … It is in our state鈥檚 best interest both for our residents and our economy that we limit ourselves as much as possible from participating in the wrong side of history.鈥�

*Editor鈥檚 note: A previous version of this article said that 鈥�33 percent of Microsoft employees in the United States are on work visas.鈥� In fact, 33 percent of Microsoft employees in Washington are on work visas. This piece has been edited to correct this error.