Mosqueda motion calls on Congress to impose strict guardrails on ICE, other DHS agencies, in wake of three deaths at the hands of ICE agents

January 27, 2026

The King County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a first-in-the-nation motion calling on Congress to put in place significant guardrails on any funding appropriated for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including halting dangerous surges of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and an end to improper U.S. Border Patrol deployments to cities across the U.S., where federal agents have killed at least three civilians and terrorized countless communities. It also calls for protections and accountability measures to rein in the agency and how it operates in communities and in detention centers.

Sponsored by Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, and co-sponsored by Councilmembers Rhonda Lewis, Jorge L. Barón, Rod Dembowski, Claudia Balducci and Sarah Perry, the motion describes the violence that immigration agents deployed by the Trump Administration have inflicted on communities and within detention centers, and details a list of restrictions Congress should impose on any future DHS funding to ensure that the constitutional rights and safety of civilians are upheld and protected.

The motion passed as a DHS funding bill is due for a vote this week in Congress.

“The violence imposed and deaths caused by our own federal government under the guise of immigration enforcement must stop,” Mosqueda said. “People are scared to go to work, school, medical appointments, the grocery store, and required court hearings or immigration check-ins for fear they may be abducted by ICE due to the color of their skin or for having an accent. People across this country are taking courageous actions to document ICE’s activity, and are being physically attacked, brutalized, and killed by the very officers who are supposed to uphold the law. We cannot let this go on and Congress must stop funding this campaign of violence and terror.”

The motion calls for an immediate halt to violent ICE agent deployments and dangerous surges in cities across the country. The motion asks Congress to immediately impose key guardrails on DHS:

• End lawless enforcement including by requiring DHS to obtain warrants, stop using masked agents for immigration enforcement actions, and prohibiting enforcement at sensitive locations;
• End detention abuses by ending the use of private, for-profit detention prisons, prohibiting funding for facilities that threaten the health, safety, or due process rights of detained people, and restoring access to bond hearings; and
• Rein in DHS by ensuring independent investigations of lawlessness and violence perpetrated by immigration agents and meaningful consequences for agents engaging in unprovoked violence and violations of individuals’ constitutional rights.

Councilmembers also call for Congress to restructure DHS to boost accountability, ensure essential national security and public safety functions, and rebuild immigration enforcement agencies from the ground-up to stop the current culture of violence and lawlessness.

A copy of the motion will be sent to members of Washington’s congressional delegation representing King County.

Additional quotes:

Pramila Jayapal, U.S. Representative, WA-7: “I am so grateful to my colleagues in the King County Council for introducing this local resolution to keep ICE and Border Patrol agents out of our county and our city. As we have watched in horror as cities across the country have been militarized and terrorized, this is a critical step to prevent an invasion on our community. Immigrants are welcome in King County, lawless immigration agents are not.”

Girmay Zahilay, King County Executive: “Congress cannot continue to write blank checks to the Department of Homeland Security while their masked agents are pepper spraying, kidnapping, and killing people in our streets. The presence of militarized immigration enforcement agents in American cities is actively endangering residents, and Congress needs to immediately suspend funding until there are meaningful reforms and oversight. I appreciate Councilmembers Mosqueda, Barón, Lewis, and Dembowski for bringing this timely motion forward to make our values clear and stand up against this abuse of power.”

Jorge L. Barón, King County Councilmember, District 4: “I am horrified by the violence and unrest that has taken place as a result of the Trump Administration’s mass deportation tactics, most notably in Minnesota over the past weeks. It is unacceptable that our own federal government is inflicting unjustified violence on our nation’s residents: parents, children, public servants, and treasured community members.  I am proud of actions that this council has taken to protect immigrants living in our region, and I continue to work closely with local, regional, and state officials to advance King County’s values of safety and inclusion. I am proud to cosponsor this motion and I implore our federal representatives to join us in doing everything possible to increase accountability and end the lawlessness we are seeing from federal immigration enforcement.”

Rhonda Lewis, King County Councilmember, District 2: “The Trump Administration is trampling civil rights. People of color are being snatched off the street or pulled out of their homes or cars without warrants or cause. Due process is still the law of the land in these United States. We in King County will continue to do everything in our power to protect all our people. And today we’re strongly suggesting that Congress act now to rein in ICE and the chaotic violence it has unleashed on American soil under the guise of border security.”

Rod Dembowski, King County Councilmember, District 1: “The unprecedented attacks by the federal government on immigrants and American citizens standing up for our constitutionally protected rights demands that every person stand up to protect our Democracy and the rights it affords us. I’m honored to co-sponsor today’s motion calling for our federal government to change course, respect the civil rights of Americans and everyone who calls America home, and adopt meaningful and enforceable reforms to our federal immigration system to abide by the constitution and our laws. I thank those in our federal delegation who are working to bring meaningful reform to the federal government’s policies and tactics and encourage them to be bold and hold strong to secure these necessary protections.”