Latest news with #UWTacoma
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
UW Tacoma faculty director charged in domestic abuse, DUI case
This story was originally posted on A University of Washington (UW) Tacoma director has been charged with several crimes regarding alleged domestic abuse. Kurt Dayan Hatch, 55, allegedly threatened to kill his girlfriend and drove under the influence, The News Tribune reported Thursday. Hatch is the faculty director of the Educational Administration Program and Professor of Practice, as stated on the UW Tacoma's website. He was charged with two counts of a protection-order violation, felony harassment, fourth-degree assault, and DUI, according to the media outlet, citing court records. Hatch was arrested on May 12 in Suncadia. Deputies were sent to the Prospector Inn after a woman called 911, yelling, 'Quit hurting me,' The Tacoma News Tribune stated. When deputies arrived, the woman told them everything was fine and she was looking for her dog, however, Cle Elum officers learned the woman had a protection order against Hatch. Hatch, according to the media outlet, is also accused of assaulting his girlfriend in November 2024, allegedly throwing her phone out a window when she tried to call 911. The Tacoma News Tribune stated Hatch was booked into the Kittitas County Jail. He was arraigned and released on $50,000 bail. UW Tacoma sent the media outlet a statement, linking mental health services and information for the Title IX coordinator's office, along with the Washington Employee Assistance Program's website and SafeCampus.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE created visa chaos for WA international students. That should worry everyone
What if someone could flip a switch to mess with your life? That's what ICE appears to be doing to several international students and recent grads in Washington state, two of whom were in post-graduate training at UW Tacoma. One day a database said they had valid status as students in the United States, and the next day it didn't, because someone with Immigration and Customs Enforcement clicked on a button. Worryingly, it appears in at least one case that Immigration and Customs Enforcement can't really explain what it was doing when it flipped that switch. The recent grads from UW Tacoma who saw their records changed could be in a similar predicament, though the details of their cases haven't emerged. More cases for students in the region are going forward in Tacoma on Thursday. International scholars are guests in our region. They add to the accomplishments of our universities and put their education in our hands. They deserve competent and humane treatment from the government agency that manages their legal status in the country. This isn't that. Even if their treatment doesn't concern you, a government agency that doesn't follow its own rules when deciding any one person's fate sets a dangerous precedent for everyone. ICE maintains a database of international scholars in the United States with a valid student status. At a hearing in Tacoma on April 17, U.S. District Court Judge David G. Estudillo asked a lawyer representing ICE to explain the agency's decision to change the status of a Seattle-based UW doctoral student in this system. What was the basis for ICE's action? Was the student, from China, now in the country without legal status? Would he be detained if he didn't leave immediately? Could he continue studying or not? That a judge had to ask those questions to get the student answers was wild enough. According to his lawyer, Jay Gairson, the student learned through UW that the change could be related to the results of a criminal background check. He has a pending DUI charge from 2023. A pending charge isn't enough for ICE to end his legal status, Gairson argued. Under U.S. immigration law, there has to be a conviction, the crime must be violent, and it must have a possible prison sentence of over one year. Gairson said not one of those things has happened – nor could they happen – based on the DUI charge. It's a nonviolent offense that's subject to a sentence of 364 days or fewer. Even wilder were the answers ICE's lawyer, assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Passmore, gave to the judge. Yes, she said, ICE changed the student's status within its system because of the DUI charge. In a kafkaesque twist, she said ICE was not taking a position on whether the change means he's lost his valid status as a student. Why? Because ICE's lawyers don't know the answer to that question yet. So as ICE's lawyers have described it, it sounds like the agency altered official records of a resident's legal status, without following its own rules, and without knowing the consequences of its own actions. That in turn sounds like something from dystopian fiction exploring themes of cruelty and incompetence. In a temporary order, Estudillo required ICE to restore the UW doctoral student's record. He also forbade the agency from putting the student into removal proceedings based on its earlier decision to terminate the record. The judge will revisit his decision in early May after getting more information from both legal teams. The details of the cases for the recent grads of UW Tacoma and many of the other students might be different. It might turn out that ICE discovered things about them that fall within the agency's rules for ending their legal status. Based on last week's hearing, it seems like it could take a court hearing to get that information from ICE. For now, the switch is flipped back for one student.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
2 recent UW Tacoma grads among international students seeing visas revoked
Two recent international graduates from the University of Washington Tacoma have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration, according to a university spokesperson, as hundreds of students across the United States face similar revocations. University of Washington spokesperson Victor Balta confirmed to The News Tribune on Tuesday that the two graduates had their work authorization revoked but declined to provide any details about the graduates to protect their privacy. The canceling of student visas in recent weeks has prompted lawsuits from states, students and the ACLU, according to multiple media reports. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that at least 790 students at more than 120 colleges and universities across the nation have had visas revoked or legal statuses terminated. While President Donald Trump's administration has targeted political activists, especially pro-Palestinian students, Balta said the University of Washington had no indication that any visa revocations affecting its students or graduates were due to activism or other protected free speech. Balta also did not say when the two UW Tacoma graduates' visas were terminated. In a publicly posted message on April 7, the University of Washington revealed that it had learned visas were canceled without notice across its three campuses for five current students and four recent graduates participating in post-graduation training. Balta confirmed that the two UWT graduates were among those four alumni referenced and, while there had been no new UWT students affected as of Tuesday, he said the university system isn't providing regularly updated figures about impacts at its Seattle campus. 'We are deeply concerned about the well-being of these students and graduates and are working to support them,' the university's message said. 'International students and scholars are essential and valued members of our University and they contribute immensely to our community, state and nation.' The university said it became aware of the cancellations while checking international student records in the federal government's Student & Exchange Visitor Information System, also known as SEVIS. 'The SEVIS record states the visa revocations were due to an immigration status violation,' the university said, adding that no other details were provided and it wasn't aware of any immigration officials coming to UW campuses related to the terminations. On April 8, the university provided an update, noting that its campuses were reaching out to affected students to notify them of the revocations and to connect them with immigration, legal and other aid. It also said it would be monitoring the SEVIS system daily as a proactive measure since the federal government was not providing notice to universities. The four recent graduates whose visas were terminated, including the two from UW Tacoma, were participating in post-completion Optional Practical Training, the university said. The program offers temporary employment related to an F-1 visa student's area of study. Akane Yamaguchi, UW Tacoma's director of international student and scholar services, sent a letter to the campus' international students on March 31. Yamaguchi said records showed no impact to UW Tacoma's population at that time but acknowledged there were reports from other educational institutions that some student visas had been canceled by the Trump administration. 'I understand that this information, as well as recent news stories, can be alarming for members of the international student community,' she wrote. 'I want to assure you that the ISSS staff and University leadership are continuing to monitor the situation closely.' Since students can't access the SEVIS immigration system, Yamaguchi said it was recommended that students remained compliant with the requirements of their visa to ensure their status remained active. It was also recommended that students carry color photocopies of their immigration documents at all times, monitor their university email and be prepared for requirements and potential delays or challenges if needing to travel internationally, she said. As of late last week, no international students at the University of Puget Sound had had their visas revoked, according to university spokesperson Veronica Craker, who said Tuesday that she was not aware of any changes since then. 'I can also share that we have been in contact with individuals who may be impacted and have shared resources that may be useful,' Craker said in an email. A spokesperson for Pacific Lutheran University didn't return multiple messages seeking information.
