King County ramps up efforts to protect immigrants from ICE

The King County Council passed a resolution Tuesday that bolsters protections for immigrants and prevents county agencies from sharing information that could be used for immigration enforcement.

The resolution comes after two state agencies — the Department of Licensing and the Department of Health — reportedly shared the data of private residents with federal immigration agencies.

Council members who sponsored the resolution said they want to make sure employees have clear rules to prevent similar cases of data sharing from happening at the county level.

“Local jurisdictions must in this moment be the last line of defense, that is exactly what we’re doing right now in this moment of increasing authoritarianism,” said Councilmember Theresa Mosqueda. “Local jurisdictions — the agencies, the divisions, the departments — they're made up of individuals. It is important in this moment that individual workers have clear policy and directive to fall back on.”

RELATED: More immigration judges are being fired amid Trump's efforts to speed up deportations

State law already prevents state and local governments from collecting people’s immigration status except for circumstances like a criminal investigation, but the sponsors of the county resolution want to strengthen that law.

The resolution prevents county officials from helping federal agents with surveillance and data-collection requests based solely on things like immigration status, or national or ethnic origin. The resolution directs county employees to refer any data requests, or attempts for warrantless arrests by the federal government or its officials, to a department or agency director.

Over the past several months, the Trump administration has intensified efforts to identify, arrest, and often deport immigrants with varying forms of legal status in the U.S. That includes people who came into the U.S. without authorization, legal permanent residents with previous convictions, people here with student visas, and immigrants pursuing pathways to legal status, including those with humanitarian parole.

RELATED: WA farm labor organizer ends his deportation fight after 4 months in ICE detention

Since Trump's inauguration, the majority of people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Washington state do not have a criminal conviction, according to data from ICE published by UC Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests.

“There are residents in our county who avoid critical services out of fear of immigration enforcement,” Councilmember De’Sean Quinn said during Monday’s council meeting. “It’s so important that our county builds trust so that no one has to choose between their safety and their well-being.”

The resolution requires signs to be posted to identify what areas in county facilities are not open to the public, or open only for a limited specific purpose. That requirement is aimed at addressing warrantless immigration arrests that could potentially happen at county facilities.

In addition, the resolution calls for the county to create a webpage that lists immigration resources, such as groups that support civil liberties and sites that explain constitutional rights. The website will provide resources in a variety of languages, including Spanish.

The resolution also calls for the county to consider ways to provide legal resources for people threatened with deportation. It also calls for the county to consider funding for rapid-response work to support immigrants in the wake of ICE raids.

Rapid-response teams have already started in the state of Washington to respond to arrests made by ICE. Participants work to identify, verify, and show up to ICE arrests. During the arrests, members of the public are often recording video of ICE action and exchanging information with the person ICE is arresting. That includes info like next of kin and explaining the person's rights.

RELATED: Federal judge orders stop to indiscriminate immigration raids in Los Angeles

Most of the arrests made by ICE over the past six months involve people from Latin America, according to ICE data published by the Deportation Data Project.

Councilmember Jorge Barón, a cosponsor of the resolution, delivered a message in Spanish Monday to the immigrant community in King County.

“We’re going to continue to seek out ways to promote immigrant rights in our community, and to protect the immigrant community,” he said at a press conference before the council met to vote on the resolution. “We’re going to continue to follow the state’s law and our own county code to protect our information, to not use local resources to collaborate with immigration agencies.”

The resolution passed 8-1, with Council Vice President Reagan Dunn the only dissenting vote.

In a statement, Dunn said he voted no partly because initiatives like these often fall “short of delivering actual meaningful support to our immigrant population,” while burdening taxpayers.

RELATED: Portland family detained at Washington border facility for 2 weeks in apparent violation of immigration policy

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was amended at 1:17 p.m. on Thursday, July 17, 2025, to correct the spelling of two council members' names and to more clearly state the purpose and contents of the website proposed by the resolution.