Council to vote on enforcement staging ban and data privacy resolution in Seattle’s pushback on ICE

The Seattle City Council’s agenda Tuesday includes two items part of City Hall’s ongoing response to the federal immigration crackdown.

In the first, the council is expected to approve a ban on federal immigration enforcement staging on city property including $45,000 in signs that are already being placed around Seattle.

An amendment further defines what types of city properties are involved and eliminates the requirement “for the City to both own and control a property in order to prohibit civil immigration enforcement staging.”

The ban is hoped to maintain “safety to public spaces, especially among Seattle’s undocumented immigrants,” according to a council analysis.

A second vote will focus on a resolution passed by the council’s public safety council. The Welcoming City Data and Privacy Protections Resolution from Councilmember Dionne Foster seeks to “reaffirm Seattle’s commitment to protecting personal data for all residents” and “ensure access to City services without disclosing immigration status or other personally identifying information that could make a resident vulnerable.”

A portion of the resolution would direct city workers with access to data to “assess whether any personal or identifying data is shared with federal agencies, even if those agencies are not directly responsible for immigration enforcement,” according to a presentation (PDF) on the resolution.

The resolution would also direct city employees to “notify the Council promptly of federal data requests” while reemphasizing existing city contractor privacy practices. The resolution is not expected to incur increased costs beyond reviews of “current city policies and practices,” and any cost to update those policies and practices. The resolution calls for a review of the city’s policies to be completed by June.

You can review the full proposed resolution here.

Tuesday’s actions will join a small flurry of legislative activity in Seattle’s response to ICE’s activities including an emergency ban on detention facilities in the city.

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