Seattle's progressive Mayor Katie Wilson announced a series of moves Thursday that ban federal agents from using city property to conduct immigration enforcement operations and requiring the police department to investigate, verify, and document reports of enforcement activities, citing the "unpredictable, chaotic, and violent behavior" of the federal government.
In a news release, Wilson, who was sworn in as mayor earlier this month, said she will sign an executive order prohibiting federal immigration authorities from using city-owned and city-controlled property for immigration enforcement activities.
"Whoever you are, and wherever you come from: if Seattle is your home, then this is your city," said Wilson said in a news release announcing the move. "And it’s our responsibility as city leaders to move quickly and get organized so we can keep people safe."
The ban includes city parks, parking lots, plazas, vacant lots, storage facilities, garages, and the Seattle Center, an entertainment, tourism and performing arts center that includes the city's iconic Space Needle.
Wilson also encouraged Seattle Public Schools and other local governments to take similar steps following enhanced immigration enforcement in Minneapolis.
"So many of us are shocked and heartbroken by the news out of Minneapolis, and share a growing concern that our city too could come under attack by the federal government," Wilson said. "I’m also disturbed by what I’ve been hearing about the huge spike in hotline calls there from families that can’t pay their rent because they’re afraid to leave their homes and go to work, and about small businesses at the end of their rope because the federal incursion has made it impossible to operate."
She said the federal government was causing "long-term harm" to many communities and that the city has a "shared responsibility to organize, practice solidarity, and do what we can to keep Seattle safe."
In addition to the ban, Wilson announced other measures, including requiring the Seattle Police Department to "investigate, verify, and document" reports of immigration enforcement activities.
The White House blamed local officials for refusing to work with ICE in an effort to safely transfer criminal illegal immigrants into federal custody, forcing federal agents to go into communities where they are confronted, sometimes violently, by agitators.
"ICE officers are facing a 1300% increase in assaults because of dangerous, untrue smears by elected Democrats," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. "Just the other day, an officer had his finger bitten off by a radical left-wing rioter."
"ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities and local officials should work with them, not against them," she added. "Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens."
Officers dispatched to reports of ICE activity will document the activity with in-car and body-worn video, as well as validate the status of federal law enforcement agents through official identification and securing scenes of potentially unlawful acts to gather evidence for prosecutors.
"I understand the concern and anxiety in the community, and I want to make sure everyone knows that the police are here to keep you safe, regardless of your immigration status," said Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes. "The City of Seattle is a welcoming city, and my officers will continue to abide by all laws and regulations that prohibit our participation in immigration enforcement."
Barnes noted that his officers don't have authority over federal agents or federal policies, but that they will document incidents if and when they are notified.
"The Seattle Police Department’s primary responsibility is the life safety of ALL people," he said.
The city will also invest $4 million in taxpayer funds in organizations involved in legal defense for immigrants and services for immigrant communities. Other initiatives include the establishment of the Stand Together Seattle Initiative, which urges private property owners to post notices clarifying that their property may not be accessed by federal agents without a warrant and mandating cooperation between the city and organizations to share information on enforcement activities through a hotline operated by a "trusted community-led partner."
"The tragic killings by ill-disciplined federal law enforcement in Minneapolis are absolutely unacceptable," said Councilman Bob Kettle. "Our Council will continue the work to create a Safer Seattle in the face of unprecedented federal law enforcement actions in cities across America which do not promote, but in fact, worsen, public safety. We stand with the people of Seattle to provide real safety, upheld by local law enforcement, whose job it is to protect and serve."