Tukwila mayor declares state of emergency amid influx of asylum seekers

TUKWILA, Wash. — A state of emergency has been declared in Tukwila as the city grapples with an influx of asylum seekers.

Hundreds of asylum seekers have found shelter at the Riverton Park United Methodist Church since December. But the church’s leader said they can no longer provide resources alone. So, late last week, Tukwila’s mayor declared a state of emergency because of the desperate situation for these migrants and this church.

And now the rain is expected to return this week.

Tents are all they have for shelter and the pastor said this is simply not enough.

For Pastor Jan Bolerjack, this is all in a day’s work.

She is lending the grounds of her Riverton Park United Methodist Church, to about 200 migrants from Angola in Africa and Venezuela in South America, all of them legally seeking asylum in this country.

“We provide them with a shelter whether it’s a tent or inside sleeping on the floor,” Bolerjack said. “We got the kids in school. We have food. We have clothing. But we are stretched thin and there are more coming.”

So, at her urging, the Mayor of Tukwila declared a state of emergency to push King County, the state of Washington, and the federal government to provide the funding and the resources these migrants need.

Bolerjack asked KIRO 7 not to record close-ups of the migrants as many are fleeing for their lives and worry about being seen back home. But there’s Alberto, a talented Angolan artist who speaks Portuguese and French.

“So, he’s been sitting here in my backyard, doing artwork for the two months that he’s been here,” Bolerjack said.

And she said he is not the only accomplished migrant here.

“There’s a surgeon, a gynecologist, she said. “I know of some welders, like house painters. Every branch of life is represented in the people that are here.”

Bolerjack said they can’t work until their asylum application has been heard. And that could take months.

KIRO 7 reached out to the King County Executive to find out what, if anything, his office can do.

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