(The Center Square) – The Spokane City Council proposed establishing “immigration enforcement free zones” on Monday, one day after the Trump administration planned to cut funding for sanctuary cities.
The term lacks an official legal definition, but sanctuary jurisdictions essentially prohibit state and local law enforcement from assisting or cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. President Donald Trump told reporters last month that he would cut federal funding to sanctuary cities beginning Feb. 1.
Spokane passed a law last August that allows city officials to designate certain areas as “nonpublic” to prohibit federal agents from entering without permission or a warrant. The Legislature is considering a similar measure, and Councilmember Paul Dillon proposed expanding their local ordinance on Monday.
“The goal of this ordinance is not to create something that is performative but practical,” Dillon said.
Dillon’s proposal follows agents detaining an immigrant and his 10-year-old daughter last month. The Spokesman-Review framed it as a father detained while dropping off his child at school. However, the outlet has since published another article noting he missed several immigration check-ins since 2023.
The courts have previously blocked the Trump administration from cutting federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions. The extent of this attempt remained unknown as of Monday. While Washington state and Seattle are a list of sanctuary jurisdictions, Spokane is not, despite enforcing many of the same laws.
The Washington State Office of the Attorney General and City Spokeswoman Erin Hut told The Center Square two weeks ago that they hadn’t yet received any notice of these cuts. The Center Square sent the city a follow-up inquiry about the cuts on Sunday, but didn’t receive a response before publishing.
Councilmember Zack Zappone said he’d like to go a step further than Dillon and prohibit Spokane from hiring Trump’s immigration agents as local police officers in the future, as the state is now considering.
“I would have a question on whether or not it would be a violation of either somebody’s individual civil rights or just our civil service process,” Councilmember Michael Cathcart said. “The state certainly could probably do that and override civil service, but I don’t know that we would have the power to do that.”
Cathcart has previously opposed similar proposals, warning they could put Spokane under a spotlight.
He remains skeptical about what these proposals can accomplish under the federal supremacy clause.
If passed, Dillon’s “immigration enforcement free zones” would prohibit federal agents from using “city property” as a staging area for civil immigration purposes. The proposal also bans federal agents from using those areas for surveillance or as staging areas, coordination points, operations bases and more.
Federal agents would only be allowed to enter with a judicial warrant or the mayor’s signed approval.
“I’m really supportive of efforts to combat ICE,” Zappone said, putting his support behind Dillon’s idea.
Dillon wants city officials to identify all city-owned parking lots, vacant lots, garages and other facilities that could apply under this new proposal. His proposal defines “city property” as “any real or personal property, land, building, facility, structure, equipment, or space owned, leased, operated, or controlled by the city.” That would include homeless shelters, transit facilities, public parks and other properties.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson issued an order last week calling for policies like those Dillon proposed.
Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall urged caution around the proposal last August, fearing that residents would expect too much out of his officers. He said the Spokane Police Department “cannot and will not interfere with federal immigration enforcement,” despite hesitating last July to cooperate with the FBI.
The council pressed Hall on Monday about how he would respond to multiple hypothetical situations.
The chief responded by reaffirming his commitment not to assist federal immigration authorities.
“If somebody calls in and says, ‘Hey, my neighbor, or this person I work with is undocumented,’” Hall said Monday after verifying that this hasn’t happened in the last five years, “our dispatch center would shut it down. That would be the end; … I can tell you that that call will never see the light of day.”
Cathcart raised concerns about the council’s opposition to providing this information if it’s recorded on a 911 call. Hall said the Keep Washington Working Act prohibits the collection of immigration statuses.
That’s what the Trump administration views as Washington state’s sanctuary policy. The Legislature is considering other measures to prohibit federal agents from wearing masks, but Hall said he wouldn’t be able to enforce that on federal agents. Spokane can only step in if officers witness excessive force.
“If you have one armed law enforcement agency confronting another armed law enforcement agency,” Hall said, “there are going to be problems.”
