Olympia mayor wants to ban ICE from city property, citing action in Seattle
Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne said on Tuesday that he supports banning ICE from city-owned properties, a move Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson made just a week earlier through executive order.
Payne said restricting or banning ICE from city-owned property would keep them from stationing their vehicles or anything else on city property, including parks or anywhere near buildings. He said he was “very intrigued” by the action taken by Wilson, and he asked that City Manager Jay Burney look into a similar measure for Olympia.
The request received unanimous support from the City Council on Feb. 3.
“I would love to see the City of Olympia join that list of cities who are prohibiting any of that activity on our property, because we will not be complicit in enforcing their unjust, inhumane, horrible and illegal federal immigration activity,” Payne said.
Mayor Pro Tem Yến Huỳnh said she supports Payne’s request and appreciates the steps the city has taken already to protect the community.
“We still see all of what’s happening unfold in the news and some right here in our community, and so continuing to look into and being strategic, being creative, and doing what we can, even at this small municipal level of government, I just really appreciate that,” she said.
The Department of Homeland Security sent a statement to The Olympian on Feb. 4 that said Olympia’s move would be “legally illiterate.”
“How does this serve the people of Olympia? The biggest losers are the people these politicians were elected to serve,” the statement said.
The statement said enforcing federal immigration laws is a clear federal responsibility, and that their officers are working to “make Washington safe again.”
Council member Paul Berendt said he thinks banning ICE from city property is the direction Olympia needs to take, and that they must do everything they can to “exclude the activities that we find so abhorrent.”
Berendt said the city just published a flyer of resources for people to access if ICE shows up in Olympia.
The information can be accessed on the city’s website and is titled: “Safety guidance for interactions with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE).”
The flyer includes three QR codes to additional resources, including the Washington Immigration Solidarity Network; Olympia Police Department Policy 413, which covers Immigration Violations; and a link to civil immigration enforcement rights from the state Office of the Attorney General.
OPD’s Policy 413 states that the department does not assist with, or participate in, immigration enforcement activities. Officers will never ask for information about immigration status, and they will respond to 911 calls regarding enforcement activities “within staffing limits.” They’re unable to interfere with any enforcement officer’s actions, however.
The flyer states that if you’re stopped by immigration officers:
- You have the right to be silent.
- You can ask if you are free to leave.
- You do not have to sign anything.
- If you are protesting immigration activity, stay at a safe distance, do not interfere with officers, and peacefully protest.
- You have the right to film the police and/or immigration officers if they are in a public place as long as filming does not impede the performance of any officer’s duties.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with a response from the Department of Homeland Security.
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
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