The King County Council passed an ordinance Tuesday to ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from staging or operating on county-owned property.
The meeting was moved online after public comments became so heated that officials cleared the council chambers.
The new policy applies to all spaces utilized by the county, including parks and parking lots. Council Member Teresa Mosqueda, the sponsor of the measure, said the ordinance is intended to prevent federal personnel and equipment from being deployed to King County properties for civil immigration enforcement operations.
Council Member Mosqueda explained that the county will treat unauthorized ICE operations as land-use violations. If federal agents do not comply with the ban, the King County Sheriff’s Office will be directed to intervene.
“Just like any other violation of land use policy, we will ask for a civil injunction,” Mosqueda said. “We will ask them to halt their operations.”
The decision comes amid significant concern from community members regarding federal immigration activity. Rosario, an undocumented immigrant who testified at the meeting, spoke about the fear shared by those living in the county without legal status. “I’m afraid of getting deported. I’m undocumented,” Rosario said.
“But at the end of the day, my friends are getting kidnapped when they are just driving to work.” Rosario also questioned if the ordinance, which focuses on county-owned properties and buildings, would address the broader issues facing her community. She noted that many arrests occur in public thoroughfares rather than government facilities.
“You can tell that most of the kidnappings are happening in the streets. Not in a building,” Rosario said. “So we are saying that hey this is the problem. How can you address it right away?”
During the online portion of the meeting, some council members raised concerns about the potential legal and financial repercussions of the ordinance.
Council Member Reagan Dunn referenced a past legal dispute at Boeing Field where the county attempted to block deportations. Dunn noted that the previous loss in court resulted in a significant cost to the public.
“Since we just got sued at Boeing Field for stopping ICE deportations and the county lost taxpayers hundreds of thousands dollars I think it’s important for us to have a public response,” Dunn said.
Following the passage of the ordinance, requests for comment were sent to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to address the county’s new restrictions. The agency has not yet provided a response.