Public Safety Committee adopts amendment to broaden ban on immigration-enforcement staging on city properties

The Seattle Public Safety Committee on March 10 adopted Amendment 2 to council bill 121164, a proposed ordinance that would prohibit civil immigration-enforcement staging on property the city owns or controls. The committee vote to adopt the amendment was 5-0; the committee then voted 5-0 to recommend the bill for adoption by the full City Council on March 17.

The amendment, authored by Council member Foster and moved by Council member Lynn, changes the bill’s operative language from "city owned and controlled" to "city owned or controlled," explicitly capturing leasehold interests and other properties in which the city retains a municipal interest. "It is a small change that I believe has a significant impact to the language," the amendment sponsor said, noting about 47 additional properties would be covered. Greg Doss, council central staff, told the committee the definition of "city controlled property" drafted with the City Attorney covers any real property in which the city has an ownership or leasehold interest and has not contracted away control for the purposes of enforcing the chapter.

Doss described three categories the definition will capture: properties the city leases to service providers and community-based organizations, leased spaces such as city service centers, and partnerships with other governments. "For the purpose of this chapter, a city controlled property is any real property in which the city possesses any ownership interest or any leasehold interest and for which the city has not agreed through a contract or other legal instrument to cede control of the property interest as pertains to the enforcement of this chapter," he said.

Committee members voiced support for the amendment as a way to protect service sites used by vulnerable populations. One member said the expansion helps ensure services are not interrupted when the city provides or partners to provide essential services. After adoption of the amendment, the committee moved and approved the committee recommendation that council bill 121164 be adopted; the committee report will be sent to the March 17 City Council meeting for final action.

Next steps: the amended bill will appear on the City Council agenda on March 17 for consideration by the full council. If adopted, the ordinance would add a new chapter (14.125) to the Seattle Municipal Code prohibiting the use of city-owned or city-controlled real property for civil immigration-enforcement staging operations.

Notes: The committee discussed oversight responsibilities related to public safety infrastructure earlier in the meeting, including a planned May review of the Sentinel/OIG review with accountability partners (OIG, CPC, OPA).