Drafter
Clerk 02/12/2026
Title
AN ORDINANCE limiting the use of King County-owned and controlled property; amending Ordinance 18665, Section 1, as amended, and K.C.C. 2.15.005 and adding a new section to K.C.C. chapter 2.15.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Ordinance 18665, Section 1, as amended, and K.C.C. 2.15.005 are hereby amended to read as follows:
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
A. "Administrative warrant" means a noncriminal immigration warrant of arrest, order to detain or release aliens, notice of custody determination, notice to appear, removal order, warrant of removal, or any other document, issued by ICE, CBP, USCIS, or any other federal agency that can form the basis for a person's arrest or detention for a civil immigration enforcement purpose. ICE administrative warrant forms include the U.S. DHS form I-200 (Rev. 09/16) "Warrant for Arrest of Alien" and Form I-205 "Warrant Of Removal/Deportation," as well as predecessor and successor versions. "Administrative warrant" does not include any criminal warrants issued upon a judicial determination of probable cause and in compliance with the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
B. "Agency" means a King County department, agency, division, commission, council, committee, board, other body, or person, established by authority of an ordinance, executive order, or charter.
C. "Agent" means a person acting within the scope of employment by or acting on behalf of an agency.
D. "CBP" means the United States Customs and Border Protection agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security and shall include any successor federal agency charged with border enforcement.
E. "Citizenship or immigration status" means a person's recorded citizenship or immigration status, as such status is defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act, at the time an agent or agency receives the information.
F. "Civil immigration enforcement operation" means an operation that has as one of its objectives the identification or apprehension of a person or persons in order to investigate them for a violation of the immigration laws and subject them to one or more of the following:
1. Civil immigration detention;
2. Removal proceedings; and
3. Removal from the United States.
G. "Coerce" means to use express or implied threats towards a person or any family member of a person that attempts to put the person in immediate fear of the consequences in order to compel that person to act against the person's will.
H. "Commitment" means confinement in secure detention for a specified amount of time following a determination of guilt. "Commitment" does not include pretrial detention of any persons such as those who are unable to post bail.
I. "Contractor" means a regional coalition or authority, state or local government, tribe, person, firm, corporation, or partnership providing health, housing, or human services in accordance with a contract with King County and including any subcontractor, employee, and agent thereof.
J. "County-owned and controlled property" includes:
1. Nonpublic areas of buildings;
2. Parking lots;
3. Garages; and
4. Vacant lots.
K. "Employee" means a person who is appointed as an employee by the appointing authority of a county agency, office, department, council, board, commission or other separate unit or division of county government, however designated, acting within the scope of employment by or acting on behalf of the county. "County employee" also includes a county elected official and a member of a county board, commission, committee or other multimember body, but does not include an official or employee of the county's judicial branch, though it does include an employee of the department of judicial administration.
((K.)) L. "ICE" means the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency including Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations and shall include any successor federal agency charged with the enforcement of immigration laws.
((L.)) M. "Immigration detainer" means a request by ICE to a federal, state or local law enforcement agency, such as the King County department of adult and juvenile detention, to provide notice of release or maintain custody of a person based on an alleged violation of a civil immigration law. "Immigration detainer" includes a detainer issued under Sections 236 or 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act or 287.7 or 236.1 of Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations. "Immigration detainer" includes a detainer issued under DHS form I-274A entitled Immigration Detainer- Notice of Action, as well as predecessor and successor versions.
((M.)) N. "Interpretation" means the transfer of an oral communication from one language to another.
((N.)) O. "Limited-English-proficient" means a person who does not speak English as the person's primary language, who has a limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English.
((O.)) P. "Nonpublic" means any area of a county facility, including the secure detention facilities of the department of adult and juvenile detention that is not generally open and accessible to the general public, but instead requires special permission for admittance by a county employee on an individual basis. "Nonpublic" also means any area of a contractor's facility, used to provide services under the county contract, that is not generally open and accessible to the general public, but instead requires the contractor’s permission for admittance to that area.
((P.)) Q. "Operation base" means an area that is used to plan, coordinate, and execute civil immigration enforcement activities.
R. "Personal information" means one or more of the following, when the information is linked with or is reasonably linkable, including via analytic technology, to the person's first name or first initial and last name:
1. Home address;
2. Work address;
3. Telephone number;
4. Electronic mail address;
5. Social media handle or other identifying social media information;
6. Any other means of contacting a person;
7. Social security number;
8. Driver's license number or Washington identification card number;
9. Bank account number or credit or debit card number;
10. Information or data collected through the use or operation of an automated license plate recognition system;
11. User name that, in combination with a password or security question and answer, would permit access to an online account; and
12. Date of birth.
((Q.)) S. "Processing location" means an area that is used for activities such as the identification, intake, processing of documentation, detention, arrest, or temporary holding of individuals in connection with civil immigration enforcement operations.
T. "Public communication materials" means materials that are intended for broad distribution to inform or educate people served by King County. For the purpose of translation, "public communication materials" refers only to printed media such as brochures, posters, booklets, pamphlets, billboards, and advertisements in printed publications.
((R.)) U. "Staging area" means an area that is used to assemble, mobilize, and deploy vehicles, equipment, or materials, and related personnel, for the purpose of carrying out civil immigration enforcement operations.
V. "Translation" means the transfer of a written communication from one language to another while preserving the intent and essential meaning of the original text.
((S.)) W. "USCIS" shall mean the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and any successor agency charged with overseeing United States immigration laws.
((T.)) X. "Verbal abuse" means the use of a remark which is overtly insulting, mocking, or belittling directed at a person based upon the actual or perceived:
1. One or more of the protected classes as defined in K.C.C. chapter 3.12D or English proficiency; or
2. Citizenship or immigration status of the person or the person's family member.
((U.)) Y. "Vital documents" are materials that provide essential information for accessing basic county services and benefits and for which serious consequences would result if the information were not provided.
NEW SECTION. SECTION 2. There is hereby added to K.C.C. chapter 2.15 a new section to read as follows:
A. Except where state or federal law, regulation, or court order or rule shall so require, property that is both county-owned and county-controlled shall not be commandeered by federal authorities for use as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for civil immigration enforcement.
B.1. The executive shall design clear signage or templates for agencies to produce and post on their applicable county properties stating: "This property is owned and controlled by King County. It shall not be used for civil immigration enforcement operations, including as a staging area, processing location, or operations base."
2. The executive shall work with county agencies to classify property that is both county-owned and county-controlled that could be used as a staging area, processing location, or operations base, for civil enforcement operations. The executive shall confer with agencies regarding properties at high risk of improper enforcement uses and develop strategies to increase security measures for such properties.
3. County agencies shall ensure that, wherever appropriate and as resources allow, physical barriers such as locked gates are used to limit access to county-owned and county-controlled properties.
C. Within thirty days of the date of enactment of this ordinance, county departments and agencies shall develop the procedures necessary to implement this ordinance. The implementing procedures shall provide that any county employee who becomes aware of the attempted or actual use of a county-owned and county-controlled property as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for the purpose of civil immigration enforcement operations shall immediately report the attempted or actual use to the department or agency director or their designee responsible for the operation of the property who shall report it to the executive. The executive shall electronically transmit a report bi-annually to the clerk of the council, who shall retain a copy, and provide a copy to all councilmembers and the council’s chief of staff.
D.1. The executive shall design a signage template that private property owners and leaseholders, including but not limited to businesses, nonprofit organizations, and faith institutions, can use, if they choose that clearly states: "This property is a Stand Together King County partner. No agent of the federal government, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), may enter these premises for purposes of civil immigration enforcement, absent a valid judicial warrant or court order. This property may not be used for civil immigration enforcement operations, including as a staging area, processing location, or operations base."
2. Property owners and leaseholders that use the signage do so at their own discretion and assume any legal risk associated with its usage. The executive will also make available to the public "know your rights" materials regarding entry by federal immigration enforcement officials.
E. This section does not apply to property that is subject to an existing lease or concession agreement to which the county is a party. This section is not intended to, and shall not be interpreted to, interfere with any such lease or agreement.
F. Nothing in this section shall be construed as restricting or interfering with the execution of lawful judicial warrants, court orders, or the enforcement of criminal law, nor as limiting the rights of any person or entity under state or federal law. This section does not prohibit the lawful use of county-owned and controlled property for purposes other than a staging area, processing location, or operations base for civil law enforcement, nor does it restrict any person or entity from carrying out functions unrelated to those purposes on such property.
SECTION 3. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance or its application to
any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the ordinance or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.