Summary

Executive Constantine issued an updated order to direct King County to prevent county resources from aiding in deportation beyond what federal law requires and create a new tool for community members to have increased transparency about any potential deportation flights at the airport.

Story

King County Executive Dow Constantine issued a new Executive Order today to ensure transparency around any potential use of King County International Airport for federal deportation flights. The new order rescinds the Executive’s 2019 order during the Trump administration, which was recently addressed by a federal court case.

The new order continues to prevent King County resources from aiding in the deportation of immigrants beyond what federal law requires, creates a new dashboard to increase the public’s transparency with regard to any use of the airport by private deportation flights, and requests action from congressional leaders to change laws that lead to civil rights violations in the deportation process.

“If the federal government insists on using our public airport for purposes that go against the County’s values, the public has every right to know. My order today continues the stance we took in the darkest days of the Trump administration, and will ensure that we lead with our values,” said Executive Constantine.

In 2019 local airport operators notified the County they would voluntarily no longer serve charters used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Trump administration then filed a lawsuit in 2020 against King County, which was resolved yesterday with a federal court invalidating the original executive order. The court order prevents King County from stopping ICE deportation flights. Despite this ruling, there is no indication deportation flights would resume.

Today’s Executive order ensures public transparency if deportation flights are resumed by the federal government or ICE contractors. It also directs King County International Airport to not use its discretionary resources to support the transport of immigration detainees, as well for the Office of the Executive to continue collaborating with community partners to establish a countywide strategy to ensure the health and safety of immigrants and refugees. The order also directs the county to develop new tools for community transparency that would document the use of the airport for federal deportation flights and publish monthly statistics.

"As an undocumented led immigrant group, we believe the efforts of the federal government to undo our local decisions and efforts to end deportation flights from King County are nothing but a way to continue profiting from criminalizing our presence in this country,” said Maru Mora of Latino Advocacy/La Resistencia. “As long as families continue being separated by Immigration Customs Enforcement, we won’t stop our fight to end all detentions and deportations. We will work with the County to ensure full access to all information related to deportation flights if they are to resume in Seattle, as well as continue working to shut down the private detention center in Tacoma.”

“What’s most important to keep in mind is that the same human rights abuses our Center documented on ICE deportation flights in 2019 continue today; we still see families being separated, people being deported with legal cases still pending, and even cases of physical violence as people are forced onto flights,” said Angelina Snodgrass Godoy, Director of UW Center for Human Rights. “We still need for our elected officials to take action to stop these abuses."

Relevant links

• Executive Order

Quotes

If the federal government insists on using our public airport for purposes that go against the County’s values, the public has every right to know. My order today continues the stance we took in the darkest days of the Trump administration, and will ensure that we lead with our values.

As an undocumented led immigrant group, we believe the efforts of the federal government to undo our local decisions and efforts to end deportation flights from King County are nothing but a way to continue profiting from criminalizing our presence in this country. As long as families continue being separated by Immigration Customs Enforcement, we won’t stop our fight to end all detentions and deportations. We will work with the County to ensure full access to all information related to deportation flights if they are to resume in Seattle, as well as continue working to shut down the private detention center in Tacoma.

What’s most important to keep in mind is that the same human rights abuses our Center documented on ICE deportation flights in 2019 continue today; we still see families being separated, people being deported with legal cases still pending, and even cases of physical violence as people are forced onto flights. We still need for our elected officials to take action to stop these abuses.

For more information, contact:

Chase Gallagher, Executive Office, 206-263-8537