The Law and Justice Committee on July 29 voted 4-0 to give a due‑pass recommendation to an ordinance that would extend certain King County restrictions on facilitating or participating in federal civil immigration enforcement to contractors that provide county-funded health, housing or human services.
Melissa Bailey of Council Policy Staff said the proposed ordinance would add new contractor-specific language to King County Code Title 2, Chapter 15 and would add definitions including “contractor” and an expanded “nonpublic” area. Bailey said the executive indicated the ordinance would largely apply to contracts managed by the Department of Community and Human Services and the Department of Public Health; DCHS reported about 2,700 active contracts in 2024.
The draft largely mirrors existing code limiting county employees’ role in civil immigration enforcement but creates a distinct section for contractors. The proposed language would prohibit contractors, while performing obligations under a county contract, from expending time, money or other resources to facilitate federal civil immigration enforcement or from permitting federal immigration authorities access to nonpublic areas of contractor facilities absent a judicial warrant or other legally required authority. Contractors would be required to report any attempts or requests for access to the county immediately, and the ordinance would not be retroactive: provisions must be included in contracts entered on or after Jan. 1, 2026.
Amendment 1 added two provisions that mirror current county employee rules: adding date of birth to the county’s definition of personal information and prohibiting contractors from asking about or requiring responses on citizenship, national origin, immigration status or place of birth unless required by law or necessary to provide contracted services; contractors must inform individuals of the right to decline without fear of retaliation. A title amendment removed the phrase “facilities” from the ordinance title to reflect that not all contractors operate facilities.
Council member Baron, sponsor of the ordinance, said the measure responds to community reports that residents are delaying essential health and social services because of fear of immigration enforcement and that extending protections to contractors will encourage access to care. He told the committee, “if it means that even one more resident in the county accesses services, I think that's worth it.”
The executive’s deputy general counsel told the committee the executive supports the ordinance and described implementation steps: departments will need to assess contracts, develop tailored training materials and identify grant opportunities to help with new requirements. Committee members discussed implementation supports and suggested the council consider funding technical assistance for small providers during budget deliberations.
The committee voted to advance the proposed ordinance (2025-0216) with Amendment 1 and title amendment T1 by a 4-0 vote; Council members Balducci, Dombowski, Mosqueda and Chair Badon recorded “aye.” The chair said the item will be scheduled for the Aug. 19 full council agenda.