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Protesters demand Gov. Inslee to remove Director of Licensing over data scandal

Protestors say that after Inslee's executive order refusing to cooperate with President Trump's immigration agenda, the department of licensing did not do enough to protect residents.

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Washington residents gathered in eight cities across the state on Tuesday, in a call to action asking Governor Jay Inslee to remove his licensing director, Pat Kohler from her cabinet position.

It comes after reports that the department of licensing failed to protect Washington residents data from federal immigration enforcement. A Seattle Times report from January says 20 to 30 times a month, the department released personal information from residents applying for drivers licenses. Federal immigration officers used this information to detain and deport residents.

"In this case, Pat Kohler was not proactive," said one protestor in Seattle Tuesday morning. "She did not implement executive order 17 to 1 as she was supposed to in 2017. This is extremely serious, extremely disappointing."

Protesters gathered in front of the department of licensing offices in Seattle, Everett, Lacey, Moses Lake, Yakima, Vancouver and Bellingham.

Director Kohler did release a statement Tuesday saying, "I remain deeply committed to implementing immediate changes and proper controls to ensure we are safeguarding our customers' personal information. We are continuing to work with our stakeholders, immigrants’ rights groups and communities of color, as well as the Governor’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General, to do a complete and thorough review of all data collection and sharing processes to make the necessary changes needed to protect all customer information."

The Department of Licensing also announced Monday it will launch community visits to share information about their new efforts to protect personal information.

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