[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6236795,"mediaKeyId","3354211-12ce975e00bce74082e615e1c72105c8","parentId",3354211,"title","Committee backs welcoming-city resolution, urges short-term legal aid for unaccompanied children","audioSeconds",1677,"startMs",2602000,"endMs",4279000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3354211-12ce975e00bce74082e615e1c72105c8&start=2602&end=4279","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3354211-12ce975e00bce74082e615e1c72105c8/thumbnail_2602000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6236795/Seattle/King-County/Washington/Committee-backs-welcoming-city-resolution-urges-short-term-legal-aid-for-unaccompanied-children","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6236795-9858bb899b594d0e4eb9d4f8e1d581f2/orig.mp4?Expires=1775204100&Signature=IDjPL7KTUNvak~STAWcEcm8L7RH-wS9UCGwpezqVYL-CSsmxMSpNaXQKlo7x4FmI0Xp06Ytkrmt8q~l4BIjxshKrvycL9KcCuqc~NTWv9CuNvlQu8BYv7YXMPYW9WKw5NLajgSH7mkbkmuG-GWfSL4naYwEeqdVD46pKv17lyf8ZqqS~KedeVdAJ19ujGJRvl9tre9wHXQ4C8FwKMQquW-m0Fj1r4L1-cSHK04VJr4h6Rf6FsCnWmzQ6kNBHSfW78Cf6JQ3~4L4ef0i3Ogt~qSyk9RwjLgW2BNJJ4MYAcN-vKcImcZRe7Y9ezPkNIyNFyfEAuslMpgzf4~SO8MtV~g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Seattle City, WA","date","2025-05-16T19:37:18Z","article","The Select Committee on Federal Administration and Policy Change voted May 16 to recommend adoption of a \"Welcoming City\" resolution designed to affirm Seattle's support for immigrant and refugee communities and to direct staff work on legal capacity and monitoring federal actions.

The resolution, introduced by Committee Chair Alexis Mercedes Rink, asks the city attorney's office to continue complying with the Court Open to All Act, to develop specialized immigration subject-matter capacity, and for the council to consider budgetary measures that would reduce harm to immigrant-serving departments. The committee voted 5-0 to forward the measure to the full City Council with the committee's recommendation.

Speakers from immigrant-advocacy organizations detailed an urgent need for legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children. \"Data shows that immigration judges are almost 100 times more likely to grant legal relief for unaccompanied children with legal counsel than those without,\" said Jessica Castellanos, managing director of Kids in Need of Defense's Seattle office. Castellanos described a closure of KIND staff nationwide that has left many children without counsel and said the Seattle immigration court had more than 1,800 pending child cases on file, the majority unrepresented.

Tim Wharton Hertz, directing attorney at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, said his organization lost over $2 million in funding and had been \"cobbling together\" representation for clients. He and other witnesses urged the committee to signal city support and to prioritize continuity of legal representation for children and other at-risk immigrants. Cindy Leo, vice president of U.S. state and local policy at Kids in Need of Defense, said the attacks on immigrant legal services were an \"attempt to tear our community apart\" and emphasized wider civil-rights consequences.

Chair Rink said the city must balance fiscal constraints with the urgency of maintaining critical services. The draft resolution before the committee originally included a firm $300,000 emergency funding commitment; the version recommended out of committee instead requests that the council \"have a discussion during the budget process\" about $300,000 in emergency funding so the matter is considered in the formal budget cycle rather than as an out-of-cycle appropriation.

Advocates told the committee that at least 55 Seattle cases remained funded in the current transition because of existing city support; they said additional emergency funding would allow the city to preserve ongoing representation while larger funding decisions are made. Chair Rink and several councilmembers framed the vote as both a policy statement of city values and a practical step to secure continuity of services during a period of federal funding disruption.

Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rink moved to recommend adoption of Resolution 32168; the motion was seconded and passed on a 5-0 roll call (Yes: Hollingsworth, Kettle, Strauss, Solomon, Rink). The committee clerk recorded the recommendation and the measure is scheduled for the May 27 full City Council meeting.

Those who testified urged the council to consider an amendment that would move the $300,000 emergency funding discussion to immediate budget consideration; Chair Rink explained the committee's preference to treat the dollar figure as a budget deliberation item rather than to appropriate funds via resolution. OIR and presenters offered to provide follow-up materials and to help the council identify the 55 cases and other children who would be affected by funding decisions.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Select Committee on Federal Administration & Policy Changes 5/16/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Select Committee recommended adoption of a \"Welcoming City\" resolution aimed at supporting immigrant and refugee communities and asked city staff to pursue budget discussions about emergency funding to maintain legal services for unaccompanied children; the committee vote was 5-0 to send the resolution to full council on May 27.","taxTitle","Seattle, King County, Washington","taxId",2543,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6236800,"Seattle briefing: federal executive orders, budget reconciliation and grant risks could hit local aid",1189,524000,1713000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3354211-12ce975e00bce74082e615e1c72105c8&start=524&end=1713","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3354211-12ce975e00bce74082e615e1c72105c8/thumbnail_524000.jpg","/articles/6236800/Seattle/King-County/Washington/Seattle-briefing-federal-executive-orders-budget-reconciliation-and-grant-risks-could-hit-local-aid","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6236800-27a87f8ae27037e66e6d7f57ff2cc965/orig.mp4?Expires=1775204100&Signature=DBL3mc1yzfaRIkWBbD7BGxmmdMqv-a-b7mvPQRPYUNk8PD40hTipI7bFFMns12a4mq43gOSp4bknwVkX22Aw55l~wDLzyIpMRFRes7RPSsnVuuIR3OCmEWFmrkIgj3ZqrUo1UOcRITEjxSbltEfw0zTVikPhqYUVqwcS5VF4NRf2zEFN4rdDAiHOC4VfhQx8aHsHzgG4nWlaZWDet2d~JJOaRRVqgGP1tblQP-FStirg1I8J5VY54UD5-J8p0VrhzCOvzZmqCVdcn3kIcFQoqnrMaQ3TPbsdDaXZv6V62ILyf3CXpZoOSSZ1A04z0hSRwSQvwoPoxnpBXuHaqsrViQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Seattle Office of Intergovernmental Relations told the City Council's Select Committee on Federal Administration and Policy Change on May 16 that a wave of federal policy and budget moves could jeopardize grants and programs local residents rely on.

The briefing covered three immediate areas of concern: enforcement-focused executive orders the administration has issued on sanctuary jurisdictions, the ongoing FY2026 appropriations process and a high-risk budget reconciliation package in Congress, and the potential rescission or alteration of federal grant funds that support Seattle programs.

OIR Federal Affairs Director Anne Maher introduced the report and said the office was tracking agency actions and congressional debates closely. \"As mentioned my name is Anne Maher and I'm a federal affairs a federal affairs director here at our office of intergovernmental relations,\" she told the committee. Leslie Polner, a federal lobbyist joining from Washington, D.C., said of the early weeks of the administration: \"It has been, a really challenging time here in Washington, particularly with the first hundred days.\" Polner and OIR staff walked the committee through executive orders, court developments and the potential local effects.

Key federal actions and legal developments described to the committee included: the administration's early executive orders such as one on sanctuary jurisdictions and another the briefing described as \"unleashing American energy,\" and a follow-up April 28 order that directed the attorney general to publish a list of jurisdictions alleged to \"obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws.\" Polner said a federal judge ruled on May 9 that the administration's efforts to withhold funding for 16 jurisdictions were \"likely unconstitutional.\" OIR said it was watching for the administration's published list and for further litigation.

On the appropriations front, OIR outlined items in the president's skinny budget and the congressional appropriations process. The office recapped Seattle's community project funding requests: Third Avenue revitalization ($3,750,000), Elliott Bay Seawall phase two ($3,000,000), Columbia City branch seismic retrofit (about $5,000,000), Lake City Community Center with an affordable-housing component, a Post Overdose Response Team expansion (a mayoral priority), and Fort Lawton redevelopment as a delegation priority.

Councilmembers asked whether projects would survive the appropriations process; OIR staff cautioned that Congress and committees remain unsettled on many items and that the president's budget is a starting point, not a final outcome.

On budget reconciliation, OIR and Polner summarized provisions circulating in committee markups that could have broad local effects if enacted. Their account included proposed changes they described as large cuts to social safety-net programs: Polner cited committee language that would reduce SNAP by roughly $290 billion (about a 30% cut) and described major proposed changes to Medicaid including new work and reporting requirements and increased cost-sharing. Polner also said Energy and Commerce markups would rescind some Inflation Reduction Act and EPA funding, while Ways and Means retained municipal bond tax-exempt status but altered energy and housing tax credits. The presenters warned the package was politically fraught and still subject to change in the Senate.

OIR staff also flagged several grant and program risks for Seattle departments: possible rescissions or changes to HOME, CDBG, LIHEAP, BRIC (Building Resilience Infrastructure and Communities), DOT neighborhood access and equity grants, and EPA clean and drinking water programs. They said City Light, Seattle Public Utilities, SDOT and the Office of Housing were coordinating with OIR and national associations to advocate for continued funding and to track formula pass-throughs. On LIHEAP specifically, staff said funding appeared to remain in place but that changes to federal personnel and grants administration had created uncertainty; OIR said it would follow up with a more detailed update.

Councilmembers pressed OIR on likely local impacts of SNAP and Medicaid changes, on coordination with jurisdictions across Washington state, and on the city's ability to track pass-through dollars to departmental budgets. Councilmember Kettle asked whether OIR was coordinating with the Association of Washington Cities and with jurisdictions in more conservative areas to broaden advocacy; OIR responded that it was conducting bipartisan outreach through delegations and national associations and has been in contact with Representative Newhouse's office because of his role on the Agriculture Committee.

The presentation also reiterated that surface transportation reauthorization (2026) will be consequential for Seattle and that the city is working with SDOT and the delegation to protect programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. OIR said it was tracking tariff impacts and macroeconomic volatility that can affect city revenue forecasts.

The briefing concluded with OIR offering to provide the committee more detailed, department-level risk assessments and to follow up on specific questions about LIHEAP staffing and the potential effect of any rescissions.

Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rink, chair of the committee, thanked OIR and said the committee would continue to monitor and receive updates as appropriations and reconciliation work moves forward.","City Office of Intergovernmental Relations briefed the Select Committee on likely federal changes — including executive orders targeting sanctuary jurisdictions, a budget reconciliation package with large proposed cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, and the risk to multiple federal grants — and outlined Seattle projects seeking appropriations.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee backs welcoming-city resolution, urges short-term legal aid for unaccompanied children

Seattle briefing: federal executive orders, budget reconciliation and grant risks could hit local aid