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Kenmore council adopts welcoming resolution, police chief clarifies limits on local immigration enforcement
Summary
Kenmore approved a resolution affirming support for immigrants and refugees and clarified that city police, as contract officers with the county sheriff, will not engage in civil immigration enforcement; the council approved a city‑attorney wording change to ensure city policies remain consistent with law.
The Kenmore City Council unanimously adopted a resolution affirming the city—s commitment to welcoming immigrants, refugees and all residents while the city attorney clarified edits to ensure the policy complies with existing law.
Deputy City Manager Stephanie Lukasz and Police Chief Brandon Mullen presented the resolution and accompanying memorandum outlining local practices. Chief Mullen summarized the department—s stance as consistent with King County Sheriff—s Office policies: local officers will not investigate, detain or arrest people for civil immigration violations and will not assist in civil immigration enforcement, though they must comply with lawful orders or warrants.
Council members asked how the city would respond if federal agents in unmarked vehicles were conducting enforcement; the chief said officers responding to a disturbance would first verify the situation and, if federal civil enforcement were involved, would not assist in the civil immigration action but might stand by to maintain public order.
The council also requested continued engagement with the city—s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) advisory committee as the policy is refined. After a brief discussion, the council voted unanimously to approve the resolution with the attorney—s clarifying language.
