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Issaquah directs police to log and report community‑reported federal immigration enforcement calls
Summary
The council asked the administration April 20 to add a dispatch code and include community‑reported federal immigration enforcement activity in the police department's monthly public report, and to report how many reports were confirmed by officers. Staff said the reporting will be limited to 911‑reported incidents and officer follow‑up.
The Issaquah City Council on April 20 directed the administration to collect and publicly report community‑reported federal immigration enforcement activity in the Issaquah Police Department’s monthly report, including a line showing how many reported activities were confirmed by responding officers.
Assistant to the City Administrator Dale Marky Crimp described a new computer‑aided‑dispatch (CAD) code created for dispatchers to flag calls in which community members report suspected federal immigration enforcement activity; the code will allow the department to log and analyze these calls and to include counts in monthly public reporting. Crimp emphasized the reporting will reflect community reports to 911 and whatever officers are able to confirm through response.
"This reporting will only reflect what is reported via 911 dispatch to the Issaquah Police Department," Crimp said. "Officers will then report to the scene and if they can, they'll confirm what's happening. However, due to the independent authority of federal agencies and the absence of a requirement to notify the city of their actions, the city cannot always independently verify or comprehensively track all federal enforcement activity."
Council members asked that transparency distinguish between raw call counts and confirmed incidents so the public can see whether a single event generated multiple reports. Council Member Walsh’s motion to require the monthly report include both the number of community‑reported calls and how many of those incidents were confirmed passed unanimously.
Why this matters: The city has limited legal authority to compel notification from federal agencies. Staff and council framed the change as a way to document community concerns and the city’s police responses while acknowledging the limits of verification for federal action.
Next steps: The police department is already using the CAD code and staff said the number of calls and confirmed incidents will be added to the department’s public monthly crime‑prevention report; the report can be expanded over time if call volume warrants.
