Legal Immigration Services of Olympia – LISO – began the way most community-rooted work does: with a simple, urgent truth that could no longer be ignored. For years, many families across Southwestern Washington have faced immigration detention alone, with almost no legal support organization available south of Tacoma. Folks living in rural counties, working long hours, raising kids, and holding their communities together too often found themselves without an attorney who could stand beside them in court at the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC).
Those gaps weren’t abstract. They were children losing parents, folks trying to interpret complex legal systems on their own, and families stretched to the breaking point.
A small circle of us – local attorneys, advocates, interpreters, and community partners – kept seeing the same pattern: the South Sound was full of need, but nearly empty of local immigration legal services. We knew that the distance between Olympia and Tacoma shouldn’t mean the distance between safety and deportation. And we knew our region needed a homegrown, community-anchored legal response.
So, in July 2025, we launched LISO.
From the beginning, LISO’s purpose has been clear: to provide free or low cost, high-quality, trauma-informed, culturally-rooted representation for detained individuals and their families, especially those who have nowhere else to turn. Our clients are farmworkers, construction workers, caregivers, parents of U.S. citizen kids, long-settled residents, and folks escaping violence who deserve a fair chance to tell their story and protect their families.
The need is overwhelming. NWIPC is one of the largest immigration detention centers in the country, yet the South Sound has only a handful of immigration attorneys – and even fewer able to represent detained cases. Most families must travel hours for counsel; many simply give up because they cannot navigate the system alone.
This is where LISO steps in.
We are building a community-based model of defense – one that honors dignity and stands firmly with families when the stakes are life-changing. We partner with interpreters, local nonprofits, faith communities, and volunteers to make sure the folks we serve aren’t standing alone in court.
LISO is still young, but our roots are strong. We were born out of community, fueled by urgency, and grounded in the belief that justice should be available to more people. Every case we take is a reminder of why we began – and why Southwestern Washington deserves a dedicated, local immigrant-justice organization supporting our neighbors.
And truly, we’re just getting started.
LISO is a nonprofit organization. Our tax ID. # is 82-3377766.
Steffani K. Powell, Executive Director & Attorney
(360)485-4488
LisoWa.org
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