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Olympia mayor asks staff to study restricting ICE activity on city property; council signals support
Summary
Mayor Dante Payne asked the city manager on Feb. 3 to investigate restricting immigration-enforcement activities (such as ICE vehicle staging) on city-owned property. Councilmembers signaled unanimous preliminary support and directed staff to research feasibility and legal implications.
Mayor Dante Payne asked the Olympia city manager at the council’s Feb. 3 meeting to research whether the city could restrict or ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity on city-owned property, such as stationing vehicles in parks or near city buildings.
Payne said he was "very intrigued" by actions other cities have taken and asked the city manager to look into the legal and practical implications. "I would love to see the city of Olympia join that list of cities who is prohibiting any of that activity on our property because we will not be complicit in enforcing their... federal immigration activity," Payne said.
Mayor Pro Tem Nguyen and several council members expressed support for the request. Council Member Baron noted a city resource paper with QR-coded information on what to do if ICE appears and thanked city staff for quickly producing it. Councilmembers provided what Payne described as a unanimous "thumbs up" for the manager to pursue the research.
The city manager was asked to review options and report back; council did not adopt an ordinance or permanent policy at the Feb. 3 meeting.
