POLICY UPDATE: New ICE cash-payoffs coercing undocumented children, continuing ICE raids in DC and other major cities, two City Council members running for Congress, local government shutdown impacts for workers and WIC program, impacts of pending U.S. Supreme Court rulings on social workers/clients, call to participate in “No Kings 2.0” Protests Oct. 18

(Week of Oct. 4-10, 2025)

• New Deportation Tactic Tricks Undocumented Children into Waiving Due Process Rights for Cash

• ICE Continues Its Strong-Arm Immigration Raids in DC, Sweeping up U.S. Citizens and Children as Well

• Two City Council Members Decide to Run for Congress

• New Term for U.S. Supreme Court Holds Docket of DC Social Work Policy Priorities such as LGBTQIA2S+ Rights, Voting Rights, Immigration/Due Process

• Federal Shutdown Continues to Threaten DC Jobs, Healthcare

• WIC Program Food, Healthcare Funding Could Run Out in Weeks for 14,000 Low-Income DC Residents   

• Oct. 18 No Kings 2.0 Protests Give Metro DC Social Workers a Chance to Amplify Pro-Democracy, Pro-Medicaid/Medicare Messages

IMMIGRATION: Unaccompanied non-U.S. children age 14 and older are essentially being bribed and coerced into accepting a $2,500 cash stipend to “voluntarily” be deported to countries from which they have fled, thanks to a horrifying new approach by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. DC has seen a dramatic drop in the number of unaccompanied children released into a sponsor’s care from 427 in 2022 to 63 in 2025. The operation, apparently called “Freaky Friday,” involves masked agents “offering” a child–with no adult oversight required–to sign a form that changes their residency status and waives their due process rights. Officials sought to downplay “shocked” outrage by immigration advocates who noted the absence of legal representation and guidance being provided for such children. On February 23, ICE issued a memo directing agency personnel to conduct a nationwide search for unaccompanied minors for deportation purposes. NASW and NASW Metro DC strongly oppose mass deportations and have been publicizing research showing the immense trauma to children threatened with or experiencing deportation. 

IMMIGRATION: Meanwhile, DC social workers continue to witness massive influxes of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal law enforcement and military equipment, as well as Virginia National Guard members who are providing “administrative support” both in DC and statewide. ICE is currently focusing its combat-style military raids in Portland, Ore.; Chicago; and Memphis, La., which have included confirmed usage of zip-tieing children as young as 3 and disappearing detainees. Witnesses also were outraged when one agent laughed about the children’s terror, saying, “F*** them kids.”

DC ELECTIONS/SOCIAL WORK SOCIAL COMPACT: Two City Council members–Robert White and Brooke Pinto–have announced their intention to run for Congress, despite assertions by 88-year-old Delegate Eleanor Norton-Holmes that she has no intention of retiring. White recently agreed to serve as primary sponsor of Social Work Social Compact legislation that will be introduced shortly; the sponsorship and bill are the direct result of NASW Metro DC Chapter’s advocacy efforts. 

SOCIAL WORK LAW/LGBTQIA2S+/VOTING RIGHTS: The U.S. Supreme Court began its new term this week with arguments related to conversion therapy, trans athlete bans, voting rights, immigration, human rights, and other policy priorities of Virginia social workers front and center on its docket. (See below for NASW’s new amicus brief regarding one case.)   

FEDERAL SHUTDOWN IMPACTS ON VIRGINIA: “A government that shuts down its services is a government that shuts out its people, and that is not just unacceptable, it is un-American," according to a new NASW Social Work blog post with NASW Policy Advisor Mel Wilson's analysis of the shutdown. The Commonwealth has nearly 150,000 federal workers—the third-largest in the U.S., according to the Office of Personnel Management—and potentially permanent furloughs continue for many of those workers. Others are working without pay through the shutdown. Some government officials claim that even if the government is closed for more than 30 days, employees would have to wait to be reimbursed until after the government reopens or even donate those hours. President Trump continued to threaten to use the shutdown this week to expand his federal worker cuts if Democrats don’t cave to Republicans’ refusal to reinstate funding for Medicaid, Medicare, and other safety-net programs.

FOOD SECURITY: Funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for (Low-Income) Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) that feeds and gives healthcare to 100,000 low-income in Virginians will run out within one to two weeks, warn hunger relief nonprofits. The program provides healthcare access for pregnant women, infants, and youth, as well as nutrition education and supplemental food. Virginia legislators could step in to cover the funding gap and seek reimbursement after a federal budget passes, but to date, they have not, choosing instead to wait to see what happens in congressional negotiations this week first.  

CALL TO ACTION: Make your voice heard–join fellow social workers and others for one of thousands of “No Kings 2.0” demonstrations October 18 in Virginia and nationwide. Look up your nearest location and bring a sign to stand up for democracy, voting rights, full funding for Medicaid/Medicare, federal jobs, continued mental health programs in schools and communities, independent scientific and academic research, and many more issues on which NASW and NASW Virginia has taken a stance. Learn more about this national movement and get engaged!