(The Center Square) – Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown proposed an emergency ordinance Tuesday that would prohibit private property owners from leasing to the federal government, include Immigration and Customs Enforcement, for detention purposes.
The announcement came in the form of a news release citing recent WIRED reporting that showed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is seeking to expand its footprint in the state. ICE already operates a field office in Spokane, but this proposal shouldn’t impact it.
State law already prohibits privately operated detention facilities in Washington with limited exceptions.
Brown’s plan would close a loophole by making an interim zoning change to remove detention facilities from the city’s list of allowed conditional uses outside the essential public facilities process. It wouldn’t affect who can lease private property, just what they use it for, so field offices are in the clear.
“Serious questions have been raised about the legality of current practices in detention facilities run by DHS,” Brown wrote on Tuesday. “The Trump Administration is actively moving to expand its detention efforts, and this ordinance is one more step we are taking locally to resist being a part of this agenda.”
Spokane City Councilmember Paul Dillon told The Center Square that he hopes to pass it next Monday. He received emails in support of and opposition to the proposal since Tuesday, with opponents citing federal supremacy.
The ordinance follows millions of immigrants crossing the border under the Biden administration, but illegal crossings are now at historic lows under the second Trump administration. Some jurisdictions have stepped in to help ICE and DHS weed out criminals, while others have refused to participate.
Brown’s proposal came as an emergency ordinance, fast-tracking it to the council for a vote next week without a committee hearing or a first reading in the regular legislative session. At least five members must vote for it to take effect immediately for the next year.
The city is updating its comprehensive plan this year.
City spokesperson Erin Hut said Spokane could incorporate this into that process. When asked what impact it would have on ICE enforcement outside of making a statement, given that it only applies to the city, which doesn’t have any private detention facilities, Hut responded, “This isn’t about immigration operations. This is about detention facilities.”
Hut didn’t respond to questions in her message about whether the city anticipates facing any lawsuits.
Dillon was part of the discussions to bring this proposal forward and said the city is waiting for further legal review. He doesn’t expect any federal lawsuits to arise from its passage, noting that they didn’t face pushback after passing the other measure last summer. The only thing that happened was a DHS statement opposing it.
“DHS has put out a call for 10-year leases to try and attract potential signees,” Dillon told The Center Square. “It really does bring up the question of allowable use; if you’re detaining people in a building that is non-conforming for that use, the city has a right to step in and look at preventative measures.”
Dillon recently proposed creating “immigration enforcement free zones” after the council passed a law last summer prohibiting ICE from entering permitted events without a warrant. The city’s progressive majority hasn’t shied away from “efforts to combat ICE,” despite concerns from the only conservative on the dais, Councilmember Michael Cathcart, who fears these ordinances put a spotlight on the city.
Cathcart didn’t respond to The Center Square’s request for comment before publishing on Wednesday.
Dillon said that if Spokane found out ICE was detaining people at its field office beyond the proposal’s allowable 24-hour period, the agency would be in violation of the ordinance. Just weeks ago, the council accepted a $100,000 grant after wrestling with a requirement to comply with Trump’s executive orders.
Cathcart was one of two people to vote against accepting the funding, citing fears of being “complicit in committing fraud.” Dillon doesn’t think the Trump administration will intervene in Spokane over this proposal or others, calling threats to pull federal funding from DHS-labeled sanctuary cities “bluster.”
“We’re basically regulating what we can regulate as a city,” Dillon said, “and what we control as a city.”
