King County votes 7-2 to temporarily block new immigration detention centers | king5.com

SEATTLE — King County's elected council voted 7 to 2 on Monday to impose a one-year moratorium on new or expanding immigration detention facilities in unincorporated areas of the county, pushing through emergency legislation amid concerns that the federal government may be seeking to expand its detention footprint in the region.

The measure, spearheaded by Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, temporarily blocks the county from accepting permits for detention centers while officials study the broader effects such facilities may have on local communities.

A public hearing on the moratorium is required within 60 days, and the county executive will use the pause to evaluate whether detention sites should face permanent land-use regulation.

"There's no existing detention facility in King County unincorporated areas," Mosqueda said Tuesday. "What we want to do is keep it that way."

The urgency behind the legislation traces to a federal signal that set off alarm bells across the region.

While Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not confirmed any expansion plans, the agency issued what Mosqueda described as a "request for interest" into whether local land opportunities might exist to expand detention capacity in King County. That inquiry, she said, was enough to mobilize a broad coalition of local governments.

"Quickly you saw the city of Tukwila pass legislation. SeaTac pass legislation. Port of Seattle passed legislation. City of Seattle's introduced it," she said.

Mosqueda pointed to conditions at the Northwest ICE Processing Center as further evidence that a preemptive stance was warranted.

The facility, which has 1,575 beds, saw its population grow throughout 2025. By January of this year, Mosqueda said, it was operating at 93 percent capacity, a figure she cited as a warning sign of impending pressure to find additional space.

Mosqueda argued that detention facilities are fundamentally incompatible with the county's obligations to its residents.

"King County is supposed to be promoting health and safety and wellbeing. We want the land use code to reflect that, and detention facilities destroy communities. They cause harm. They disappear people,” she said.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Tuesday's vote.