On Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026, King County Council members voted to enact a one-year moratorium preventing the development of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in unincorporated King County areas. After a 7-2 vote, the emergency motion bars any permits to construct new ICE detention centers, along with any expansion of existing facilities. This legislative decision follows Girmay Zahilay’s executive order barring ICE from King County-owned properties last month (KUOW, 2026). The county joins other surrounding cities in ensuring that land-use is reserved for strengthening the community and supporting its members.
According to an article by Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez from KUOW, County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda says that ICE facilities “disrupt and destroy the fabric of our communities.” Mosqueda, who was the one to introduce this moratorium, goes on to mention that these detention centers result in “fewer people seeking health and safety from local law enforcement, fewer people getting their medical care needs met, [and] kiddos missing days of school.” Álvarez notes that this ruling is restricted to unincorporated areas and would not apply to cities within King County or to tribal land.
In an interview with David Gutman from The Seattle Times, Mosqueda says “The land-use regulations that the council has, our local government authorities, allow for us to protect the health and safety of community residents… We want to protect against these new facilities from coming into place here.”
This aligns with the actions taken by state legislation in the past, with a bill passing into law back in 2019 titled Keep Washington Working. This Act restricted the involvement of state and local law enforcement in immigration, and defined Washington as a ‘sanctuary state’ (KUOW). Currently, Governor Bob Ferguson stands in support of many proposed bills that would restrict ICE’s activity in the state, and legislation continues to consider other ways to aid the community.
There is only one ICE detention center in Washington State: the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, which has a 1,575-bed capacity. Gutman says that, since the fall, this Pierce County facility has filled their beds at an astonishing 90%, with over 70% of detainees being noncriminal.
Back in 2021, a push from democrats to close the privately-owned facility was blocked, sending legislation to look elsewhere— In 2024, firmer restrictions about the health and safety of detainees was placed on the center, only for inspectors to be turned down at the door (KUOW). For Washington, this is part of a long-standing fight for its residents.
As reported by a 2020-2024 census, foreign-born persons make up roughly 25% of King County residents. (U.S. Census Bureau) With such a high population, this recent moratorium aims to protect immigrants in the county. Critics, however, say that this motion would interfere with the relocation of detainees if the existing detention facility were to become uninhabitable. (Álvarez, 2026) Decisions about what to do in this scenario remain up in the air. For the time being, folks can expect to hear from Executive Zahilay regarding next steps in King County’s policies on ICE.
