Committee approves ordinance limiting use of King County property for civil immigration enforcement, 5-0

The Law and Justice Committee voted March 4 to approve a proposed ordinance (2026-0027) restricting the use of King County–owned and -controlled property as staging areas, processing locations, or operational bases for civil immigration enforcement operations. The committee passed the ordinance as amended by a 5–0 roll-call vote and will place it on the council consent agenda for the March 17 meeting.

Council staff Gene Paul summarized the measure and the amendments, saying the ordinance would codify limitations included in a recent executive order and require the executive to design signage templates, classify county property for risk of use in civil immigration enforcement, develop strategies to secure those properties, and create implementation and reporting procedures. "The proposed ordinance would limit the use of county owned and controlled property as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for civil immigration enforcement operations," Paul said.

Sponsor Council member Mosqueda said the striking amendment incorporates feedback from community partners, the executive and the prosecuting attorney’s office and is intended to formalize protections already afforded to many nonpublic county facilities. "This isn't about special treatment. It is about formalizing the fact that civil enforcement forces aren't entitled to use county areas that aren't already open to other general public members," Mosqueda said.

The staff presentation noted specific operational details the ordinance would require: signage templates for county and private property owners (the staff summary included model language stating that "No agent of the federal government including ICE may enter these premises for purposes of civil immigration enforcement, absent a valid judicial warrant or court order"), a requirement that the executive classify and secure properties considered high risk for such uses, a 30‑day deadline for implementation procedures after enactment, and annual reporting to the council.

The committee considered but did not enter executive session to address legal questions. Deputy Director Misha Warshkel of the executive's policy team described the ordinance as a companion to the executive order and emphasized focusing signage and security efforts on "high-risk" properties so resources are used where they will be most effective.

After votes to adopt the striking amendment S1 and title amendment T1, the council clerk called the roll; the committee recorded five ayes and no votes against. Chair Rhonda Lewis said the ordinance, as amended, will go on the March 17 consent agenda and that certain late line amendments will be handled at full council if necessary.