Members of the national Occupation Project campaign in Seattle are staging sit-ins and demonstrations to bring attention to Democrat Maria Cantwell's record of support for the US war in Iraq. Demonstrators protested at her home in the city of Edmonds and occupied her Seattle office at the Jackson Federal Building, demanding that she vote against funding for the war.

One of the participants at the sit-ins at Senator Cantwell's office in Seattle is Mike Caldwell, a ten-year veteran of the US Army: "Our representatives need to understand. The people of the United States and the people of Seattle, even more so, are opposed to this war. They need to represent us. I'm just here doing my part to make sure that happens."

Cantwell's staff locked the doors to the Senator's office and denied access to reporters when KING-TV tried to interview the protesters conducting the sit-in.

Occupation Project organizers vow to continue their nonviolent acts of civil disobedience in an attempt to pressure the US Congress to stop funding for the war. --Mark Taylor-Canfield

The Ground Zero Three were sentenced at the Kitsap County Courthouse in Port Orchard February 22.

Shirley Morrison, CarolAnn Barrows, and Brian Watson were convicted at their January trial on two charges of "disorderly conduct" for attempting to block the entrance to the Naval base. A judge handed down a 90-day suspended sentence for each activist and gave them two years of probation on condition that they avoid any further criminal law convictions. The Ground Zero Three also received $500 fines. Morrison, Barrows, and Watson will be required to do 64 hours of community service.

The defendants say they will challenge the prosecutor's requirement that they reimburse the Kitsap County Sheriff's Department for the cost of their arrests. They also say that despite their conviction they will continue to work with the Ground Zero Center For Nonviolent Action and speak out against nuclear weapons. --M. T.-C.

A resolution has been introduced into the Washington state legislature calling for the impeachment of US President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney. Bellevue Senator Eric Oemig, along with eight other Democratic state senators as co-sponsors, have introduced the impeachment resolution.

The resolution petitions the US Congress to begin investigations and impeachment proceedings against Bush and Cheney. It accuses the President and Vice-President of misrepresenting the facts about Iraq to the US Congress and to the American public in order to justify the war.

Co-sponsors Jeanne Kohl-Welles of Seattle and Debbie Regala from Tacoma hope to pass the resolution in the Washington State legislature and then have their petition forwarded to the US Congress for consideration. A hearing on the measure has been set for March 1.

The passage of such a resolution by any state legislature in combination with introduction by any member of the House of Representatives can mandate the beginning of the impeachment investigation process. An impeachment resolution has also been introduced into the New Mexico state legislature and another is waiting consideration in Vermont. M. T.-C.

Agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) have arrested 51 employees of the United Parcel Service near Seattle. ICE officials claim that foreign nationals were working for the company illegally.

ICE officials have announced that agents raided two separate UPS warehouses as part of a national campaign to crack down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

The workers were employed by the United Parcel Service and Spherion, a temporary employment agency at work sites in Auburn. They are being detained at an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, where immigrant rights groups are holding vigils. US immigration officials say the employees were foreign nationals from Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

According to the official ICE press release, the arrests in Auburn were part of a national effort focusing on businesses with ties to "security sensitive sites and critical infrastructure facilities." ICE claims that unauthorized workers with access to these sites are vulnerable to exploitation by terrorists.

During 2006 the agency arrested 718 individuals on criminal charges at work sites around the country and apprehended 3,667 workers for immigration violations. Recent ICE raids have also been conducted at work sites near the US/Canadian border in Bellingham. --M. T.-C.

The government of Canada has granted refugee status to Amir Kazemian. After living in sanctuary at a Vancouver church for two and a half years, the Iranian immigrant was arrested by local police. Now the Canadian Immigration and Border Services agency has released him from custody.

Fearing that his deportation back to Iran would result in imprisonment and torture, Kazemian took sanctuary at St. Michael's Anglican Church in 2004. When Amir Kazemian received death threats from a Canadian citizen, he reported the incident to police. A Vancouver police officer entered St. Michael's church and arrested him, violating a long-standing policy of non-interference with sanctuary cases.

The Immigration and Refugee Board has now accepted Kazemian's application for refugee status and he's been released from detention. Spokespersons for the International Federation of Iranian Refugees say the ruling may help other refugees in similar circumstances throughout Canada and the US. --M. T.-C.