“Welcoming King County” Motion Passes Council – Will Strengthen Protections for Immigrants and Refugees

July 15, 2025

With the Trump administration sowing fear across the country through brutal and unjust persecution of immigrant communities, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda and her King County Council colleagues passed a “Welcoming King County” motion strengthening commitments that the County will not assist federal immigration enforcement actions and committing to additional support for immigrant and refugee communities.  

Sponsored by Mosqueda, and co-sponsored by Councilmember Jorge L. Barón, Law & Justice Committee Chair and former long-time Executive Director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and Councilmember Rod Dembowski, Budget & Fiscal Management Committee Chair, this motion demonstrates the council’s commitment to take action to implement additional safeguards against the federal administration’s attempts to use King County public safety infrastructure to surveil residents, and boost supports for immigrant and refugee communities, including dedicated staffing to protect individuals appearing in court for their hearings (a frequent target of ICE), promoting awareness of rights and resources available to immigrant communities, and posting signage at King County buildings.     

“As the federal administration continues to expand its campaign of fear and violence upon immigrant communities, we must stand with residents of King County by protecting data the county holds and the people within our borders,” said Councilmember Mosqueda. “This motion is a next step towards that goal, and I look forward to working with my council colleagues to advance legislation and budget investments to do all we can to protect the rights of our residents.” 

This motion indicates the council’s intent to pursue several steps to further support immigrant and refugee communities, including:    

• Limiting county assistance with federal investigation, enforcement of registration or surveillance programs, or any other federal policies that target residents solely on the basis of race, religion, immigration or citizenship status, or national or ethnic origin;  
• Increasing staffing in the Office of Equity and Racial and Social Justice dedicated to boosting outreach to and engagement with immigrant and refugee communities;  
• Creating a ‘Know Your Rights’ web hub and multilingual alerts for immigrant residents;  Increasing funding for deportation defense and rapid response to ICE raids;  
• Installing signage in County buildings blocking warrantless federal access;  
• Urging courts and prosecutors to not increase consequences of criminal legal system involvement solely due to one’s status as an immigrant; and
• Affirming voter access for multilingual, immigrant electorate ahead of 2026 races.  

Quotes from Co-Sponsors and Community Partners:  

Councilmember Jorge Barón: “Earlier this month, Congress passed legislation that dramatically increases funding for immigration enforcement and slashes the safety net for our newly arrived neighbors. Now more than ever, it is essential that regional leaders make it crystal clear that we stand in solidarity with all King County residents—regardless of their immigration status.  This motion is a strong step towards ensuring that King County is taking every reasonable action within our power to protect our residents from the immense harms being enacted by the federal administration. I am committed to identifying further ways we can live our values in the upcoming budget process and through future legislation.” 

Councilmember Rod Dembowski: “With one in four of King County’s residents born outside the United States, it is clear that immigrants are an essential part of our county’s fabric—contributing to our economy, enriching our culture, and strengthening our communities. Through this motion, we reaffirm King County’s commitment to being a welcoming county where every person is valued and respected.”

Catalina Velasquez, Executive Director, Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network: “We appreciate Councilmembers Mosqueda, Dembowski, and Barón for sponsoring this motion to continue King County’s long history as a county that is not just welcoming, but actively supportive of all immigrants and refugees. As the federal government works to divert as many taxpayer dollars as it can to continue to ruthlessly target our immigrant neighbors, more news stories reveal how these anti-immigrant federal policies are impacting citizens and damaging entire communities with far-reaching economic and political consequences. It is vital that our local governments stand with immigrants, not just in words, but also in action. Making the investment to be truly welcoming to immigrants and refugees means making the investment in all of us.” 

Lorena González, Legislative Director, ACLU of Washington: “As demonstrated by the recent sharing of Department of Licensing and state Medicaid data with ICE, the need to plan for federal overreach before it takes place is critical. We support King County’s efforts to assure that it is complying with state law, defending civil liberties, and protecting its residents from surveillance and data sharing and misuse.”

Kayley Bebber, Unaccompanied Children Program Directing Attorney, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP): “NWIRP is glad to see the King County Council taking steps to honor its commitment to be a welcoming county for immigrants. In the last half year, we have seen sudden and drastic changes in immigration enforcement and policy that have harmed King County residents and their families. These changes, and the swiftness and cruelty with which they have been implemented, are designed to make immigrants in our community feel unwelcome and afraid. In this context, the Welcoming County motion is especially crucial. We also recognize that this is just a start and will require a substantial amount of ongoing work, including legislation, funding, and support, as well as collaboration with community stakeholders.”

Guillermo Zazueta, Political and Organizing Manager, OneAmerica: “We deeply appreciate the initiative that this Council has taken on this motion. In a time with so much fear and uncertainty in our immigrant and refugee communities, it’s motions like this one that serve as critical reminders that our local elected officials can and are doing something about this crisis that has become our federal administration. Motions like this tell our immigrant and refugee neighbors: ‘You belong here. We’ve got your back.’ We hope that other counties in Washington State follow the lead of King County in reaffirming their support for immigrant communities in this dire time of need.”