Seattle Imposes 1-Year Ban on New Immigrant Detention Facilities

The Seattle City Council unanimously approved an emergency one-year ban on March 10, preventing new detention facilities from being built, joining similar efforts in King County and neighboring cities.

The moratorium pauses the construction and expansion of detention facilities and establishes a plan to consider permanent regulations. Seattle joins a wave of other local municipalities, like SeaTac, Tukwila, and Renton, who have enacted similar measures. King County also approved a yearlong moratorium on March 3.

"We know that detention centers are sites of serious harm, and any expansion of them will only enable this federal regime to ramp up their inhumane and, in many cases, illegal enforcement actions," said Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who sponsored the bill.

In December 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent out notices to numerous cities, including Tukwila, to inquire about building new detention facilities in those locations. Tukwila never received a formal proposal.

Federal funding for the expansion of new facilities throughout the country was approved by Congress and signed into law in July 2025. The Seattle bill was introduced as a response to those notices, in addition to rising concerns over increased federal immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.

Currently, the Northwest ICE Processing Center, located in Tacoma, is the only detention facility in the state. The Center for Human Rights at the University of Washington has documented numerous reports of human rights violations at the 1,575-bed facility, which is privately run.

Rinck said the legislation outlines the council's scope and control on what the city can do with its resources and spaces.

During the public comments that preceded the vote, some people said the moratorium did not go far enough to protect immigrants, arguing it wouldn't permanently stop detention facilities from being built. But councilmembers view it as a crucial first step within their legal authority to create more protections.

Rachael Snell, an elected state delegate for the 37th Legislative District, said that the district's diversity, which includes South Seattle, could make it a target for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"We're the most vulnerable to having ICE come and track us," Snell said. "It seems like anybody who's a threat to the federal government is now going to be very susceptible."

The bill states that the city needs time to analyze and update its regulations to address the creation or expansion of detention facilities. It defines a "detention center" as a privately operated facility in which people are "detained in custody under process of law pending the outcome of legal proceedings but is not used for punishment, correction, counseling, or rehabilitation following the conviction of a criminal offense."

The bill also states that new or expanded detention facilities could have negative impacts on water, sewage and wastewater, transportation and parking, public safety, and public health, and that appropriate mitigation measures need to be taken.

The moratorium now heads to Mayor Katie Wilson's desk for approval. Once signed, it will take effect immediately.