by Vee Hua 華婷婷
Kent Encampment of Asylum-Seekers Swept by Kent Police and King County Sheriff
Offer Feedback on the Proposed City of Seattle Budget
Seattle City Council District 8 Debate at Town Hall, Preceded by Screening of Vice Presidential Debate
A Kent encampment of asylum-seekers was swept last Tuesday, Sept. 24, by Kent Police and the King County Sheriff’s Office. The sweeps began at 7 a.m., when the nearly 200 refugees from South America and Africa were given the choice to either board a bus and accept temporary housing or pack up their belongings and leave, as the camp was to close by the end of the day.
As reported by MyNorthwest, “Thirty-one pregnant women and families went to a Thrive Center facility in Tacoma, operated by Thrive International.” Funding exists for them to remain there through June 30, 2025, and was paid for with a portion of $5 million in aid funding given to King County by the State on Oct. 1. Thrive will attempt to attain additional government funding so the camp residents can stay for a longer period of time.
The remaining 77 refugees, who were all single individuals, were sent to the SeaTac DoubleTree hotel. King County said the funding it had would only last five days, ending on Monday, Sept. 30.
“County representatives showed up with police officers giving us the news that they had already reached a good agreement to give us all housing, which was totally false. They took some families with children, but we, the singles, were left in a hotel for 5 days,” one asylum-seeker shared with community organizations. “We feel deceived. 5 days in a hotel is not enough to be able to seek better stability. They deceive us as children. It is not fair that they have done this to all these families who were able to put their faith and hope in them.”
Another asylum-seeker echoed the sentiments, saying the camp residents were “tricked” out of the camp. “After we left, they told us they would only take us to the hotel for five days and they could no longer do anything else for generators or tents that we have,” the person said. “In the hotel, we have nothing to cook. We have nowhere to eat. This situation has us all in a state of shock; why did they do this?”
Some asylum-seekers The Seattle Times spoke to said they were not helped because they were not present on the site during the time of the sweep. At least 20 of them were helped by a mutual aid group called Coalicion Dignidad Migrante, which gathered donations that paid for them to move into the Kent Quality Inn. King County said it did not believe it missed any camp residents who were originally there, and that additional people showed up afterward attempting to receive services.
Community organizations and individuals are hosting a number of fundraising events and actions, in an attempt to raise money to assist the asylum-seekers with housing. Some include:
Dance Party and Emergency Fundraiser
Oct. 4, 7 p.m.
Music by The Philomath Groove
Washington Hall Ballroom
153 14th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122
Action Network Campaign
Petition asking King County to improve its actions.
The South Seattle Emerald has been covering the Kent encampment since as early as January 2024, when a number of asylum-seekers were evicted from Kent’s Quality Inn.
The City of Seattle is in its final months of preparing for the 2025–2026 budget cycle. The budget cycle is expected to end around Nov. 21 and will conclude with a vote by the City Council, which must close a over $250 million budget deficit. Policies within Washington State require that the City of Seattle must have a balanced budget moving into the next fiscal year.
On Sept. 24, Mayor Bruce Harrell transmitted his proposal for the 2025–2026 budget to the Council and gave public remarks regarding his plan. The next day, the City Budget Office provided an overview of the budget to the City Council.
Between Sept. 27 and October, different City offices will provide presentations to the City Council and answer questions in preparation for the City Council’s first public hearing at 5 p.m. on Oct. 6.
The City Council will analyze the budget’s various policy considerations and take into account the City’s anticipated tax revenues and revenue forecast throughout the remainder of October. At the end of October, the City Council will offer a first draft of its budget proposal.
Its second budget hearing will then take place on Nov. 12 at 5 p.m., which will be followed by a vote on amendments from Nov. 13 to 15. The final budget hearing is Nov. 21, when the City Council will host a special meeting to cast the final vote on its version of the City budget.
Throughout the entire process, Seattle residents are invited to participate by reviewing the budget, attending budget committee meetings, and offering feedback through a number of avenues. An easy step-by-step guide that offers tips on how to give feedback can be seen via a document called “Demystifying the Council’s Budget Process.”
People can also do one of the following to submit their thoughts:
Public Hearings: Comment in person or remotely, as in any committee or regular meeting.
Oct. 12, 5 p.m.
Nov. 12, 5 p.m.
Budget Committee Meetings: Comment in person or remotely at the first meeting of each budget process step.
Oct. 30, 9:30 a.m.
Nov. 13, 9:30 a.m.
Written Comment: Submit your thoughts to the entire Council via Council@Seattle.gov or write to individual Councilmembers at any time during the budget process
Individual City offices will also be offering presentations about the budget. Some of them include:
Sept. 30: Office of Sustainability and Environment, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Department of Education and Early Learning
Oct. 1: CARE department, Seattle Police Department, Human Services Department
Oct. 2: Office of Housing, internal service departments (Finance and Administrative Services, IT Department, Seattle Department of Human Resources)
Those who wish to learn more about where the City of Seattle has been spending its money over the past five years can also read the Council’s 2019-2024 Budget Review, which was released in April 2024. Some parts of the briefing of the budget review can be found via YouTube, divided into the following sections:
Town Hall will be hosting a debate on Oct. 1 between the Seattle City Council District 8 candidates, current interim Councilmember Tanya Woo and community organizer Alexis Mercedes Rinck. The event will be moderated by podcasters Erica C. Barnett, Sandeep Kaushik, and David Hyde of “Seattle Nice,” which explores Seattle politics across the political spectrum.
Tickets will cost a sliding-scale amount between $0 and $15, and the event will take place at The Great Hall (1119 8th Ave., with entrance on 8th Ave.) at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Town Hall events are approximately 75 minutes long, and live captioning will be available for the event. Register for a ticket in advance on Town Hall’s website.
The event will also be preceded by a live screening of the vice presidential debate between Republican candidate and current Ohio State Sen. J.D. Vance, and Democratic candidate and current Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. More details about how to watch it can be found on AP News.
Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the editor-in-chief of REDEFINE, a long-time member of the Seattle Arts Commission, and a film educator at the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they previously served as executive director and played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. After a recent stint as the interim managing editor at South Seattle Emerald, they are moving into production on their feature film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy. They have a master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
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