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Public commenters urge King County to limit cooperation with ICE after proposed ordinance introduced
Summary
At the Feb. 17 King County Council meeting, residents urged the council to go beyond an executive order and fully restrict county cooperation with ICE; proposed ordinance 2026-0627 was introduced and referred to committee and prompted multiple public commenters to ask for more legal services and resources for immigrant communities.
King County residents asked the Council on Feb. 17 to take stronger action to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement after the body introduced proposed ordinance 2026‑0627, which would restrict use of county property for immigration purposes.
Chair Sarah Perry read the item into the record and said the ordinance was being introduced and referred to committee. To accommodate the large turnout, Perry proposed suspending rules to expand public comment time; the Council proceeded after clarifying ground rules.
Speakers at the podium urged more concrete steps. Nathan Wall said ICE is "terrorizing our communities" nationally and locally, described individual harms and urged elected officials to join protests. Sierra Smith said she supported proposed ordinance 2026‑0627 and asked the county to pursue full noncompliance with ICE on county‑controlled property. Rosario Lopez, who identified as undocumented, said fear keeps many families from attending civic meetings, called the executive order insufficient and said existing allocations (she referenced $2,000,000) were not adequate to provide food and legal services for those in need.
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda thanked speakers, described the ordinance and the executive order as a beginning and said the executive team's office had offered to meet separately with community members to continue the conversation.
The proposed ordinance 2026‑0627 was introduced and referred to committee at this meeting; no committee action or vote on the ordinance occurred during the session.
