Thurston County seeks to ban new federal immigration detention centers
Thurston County is looking to ban any new federal detention facilities under a proposed emergency ordinance.
County Commissioner Carolina Mejia proposed the ordinance during a Wednesday work session with her seatmates at The Atrium in Olympia.
If approved, the draft ordinance would impose a six-month moratorium on the acceptance and processing of applications for federal detention facilities within unincorporated Thurston County. The proposal came as jurisdictions across the country are pushing back against the Trump administration’s approach to immigrant enforcement. Mejia said she modeled her proposed ordinance on similar actions passed in Howard and Baltimore counties in Maryland. The Metropolitan King County Council approved its own ban on Tuesday.
“As we know, this is a trending issue that is basically happening in Washington State with the expansion of federal facilities and the federal government looking for areas,” Mejia said to her seatmates.
Congress passed a spending bill last year that included nearly $170 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, including $45 billion for detention facilities, The Associated Press reported.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) currently has the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, a for-profit facility owned and operated by The GEO Group.
ICE has no new detention facilities “to announce” in Washington, ICE spokesperson Christine A. Cuttia said to The Olympian in a statement emailed Friday morning.
“All sites undergo community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process prior to purchase to ensure there is no detrimental impacts on local utilities or infrastructure,” Cuttia said.
Cuttia confirmed that ICE is seeking to expand detention space with the influx of federal funding. Cuttia said these will be “very well-structured facilities” that meet ICE’s “regular detention standards.”
The Homeland Security secretary “aims to work with officials on both sides of the aisle to expand detention space to help ICE law enforcement carry out the largest deportation effort in American history,” Cuttia said.
President Donald Trump fired Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday following criticism of her leadership in immigration enforcement and disaster response, the AP reported. She oversaw Trump’s nationwide immigration response, during which federal agents have shot and killed two protestors in Minneapolis this year.
When reached for comment, Thurston County spokesperson Susan Melnyk said Thurston County Community Planning and Economic Director Ashley Arai is not aware of any federal detention facility proposals in Thurston County in recent years.
The Board of County Commissioners unanimously directed the county manager to provide administrative and legal review of the draft ordinance with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and return to the board with options for consideration.
“I just want to note that this is not any kind of final decision,” Commissioner Wayne Fournier said before the vote. “These ordinances would have to go through a lot of other processes. There will be plenty of opportunity for public comment and review of this proposal.”
Melnyk described the board’s vote as a “first step.” When asked about a timeline for this proposal, Melnyk said the county would not speculate, but that the proposal is a priority for County Manager Leonard Hernandez and county staff.
Commissioner Rachel Grant thanked Mejia for bringing forward the proposal but questioned why the moratorium would be limited to six months.
Mejia said she wanted the moratorium to be longer, but the county’s legal counsel advised her that it could be no longer than six months.
“The board will just have to make an extension once those six months are over,” Mejia said.
Mejia proposed a second ordinance that would ban ICE from county property. Specifically, the draft proposal says it would restrict the use of county-owned or county-controlled property for “civil immigration enforcement staging, processing or operational activities.”
The Olympia City Council unanimously approved a similar restriction last month along with a resolution that called for the end of “dangerous immigration enforcement tactics” by ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, The Olympian previously reported.
Thurston County law enforcement is not aware of any federal agency that has used Thurston County property or equipment for immigration enforcement, Melnyk said. However, she did point to a 2019 incident outside Thurston County Superior Court in Olympia.
In that incident, ICE in civilian clothing arrested a man outside the courthouse and transported him to the detention center in Tacoma, The Olympian reported.
The Thurston County board did not direct staff to start reviewing Mejia’s second ordinance on Wednesday.
Mejia asked the board to first consider the moratorium due to “timing and staff constraints.”
Hernandez said county staff would add a discussion about the second ordinance to a later board agenda.
Cuttia did not directly respond to questions about ICE’s stance on the two proposed ordinances in Thurston County.
Commissioner Mejia explains her proposals
When reached for comment, Mejia said she proposed these ordinances because she feels a responsibility to proactively care for the community.
“I think it’s part of our job to think about how federal policies may affect our residents and to ensure our county policies are clear, lawful and aligned with Washington state law,” Mejia said in an emailed statement.
There’s also a personal dimension to Mejia’s actions. She emigrated from Honduras with her parents and two siblings when she was 11 years old, The Olympian previously reported.
Her family settled in Shelbyville, Tennessee, where her father managed to get a work visa. She later moved to Washington state after graduating from college in 2013.
“My experiences shape how I view public service,” Mejia said. “They remind me that behind every policy discussion are real families trying to build a future, contribute to their community, and feel secure where they live.”
She said the proposed moratorium is intended to give the county time to “carefully evaluate” any potential proposals related to federal detention or enforcement facilities within the county’s jurisdiction.
“Facilities like these can have wide-reaching effects on communities,” Mejia said. “They can influence how safe people feel interacting with local institutions, whether families are comfortable accessing services, and the overall sense of trust between residents and government.”
It is important that we fully understand those impacts before any such facility could be considered in Thurston County.”
The second ordinance is about “ensuring consistency” with state law and providing clear guidance on how county resources may be used, she said.
The state’s Keep Washington Working Act of 2019 already limits the ability of local law enforcement to work with ICE. That includes the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
Mejia said she supported prioritizing the moratorium ordinance because it addresses an “immediate policy question.”
“I appreciate the thoughtful discussion from my colleagues on the board, and I’m grateful to Commissioner (Tye) Menser for helping think through this issue as we considered how best to move forward,” Mejia said.
Issues like this benefit from collaboration and careful consideration, and I value the board’s willingness to approach the topic thoughtfully.”
Mejia hopes the board can review draft language for the moratorium in the “coming weeks,” she said. She intends to revisit the second ordinance with her seatmates next week, she added.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comments from an ICE spokesperson.
