MAYORAL DIRECTIVE Date: February 6, 2018 To: City of Seattle Department Directors From: Mayor Jenny A. Durkan Subject: City of Seattle Protocol on Federal Immigration Enforcement Background on Seattle as a Welcoming City We have pledged to be a Welcoming City that protects all residents. This is not only the morally right thing to do, it is essential to a fundamental City duty. The City has a duty to protect the public safety of all of its residents. Confidence and trust in law enforcement is critical to this duty. Such confidence and trust supports essential functions of law enforcement including reporting of crimes to officers, participation of witnesses in investigations, and enhancing respect for law enforcement in our communities. This support for the essential work of law enforcement makes everyone in a community safer. Many people do not distinguish the various types and roles of law enforcement. Positive and negative interactions with any law enforcement can adhere to all law enforcement. Recent actions and pronouncements by federal authorities, particularly by Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), undermine the trust and confidence essential to law enforcement. Many residents, regardless of their immigration status, may be unwilling to report crimes or participate in investigations because of concerns about potential impacts on others in their families or communities. This erodes and undermines the community trust that is essential for the City to provide public safety. To bolster and maintain the trust needed for public safety, all residents must know we will take the steps necessary to protect them. Recent reports regarding lapses by government, including by the Washington State Department of Licensing, show we must have robust protocols for all City departments. As discussed below, we will be assessing all Departments to determine what information is collected and distributed, whether that information is necessary to collect, and the need for individual departmental protocols. Until such assessment is completed the following will be effective immediately: To further Seattle as a Welcoming City for all residents, including immigrant and refugee residents and workers, City department directors are hereby directed to refer all requests from ICE authorities to the Mayor’s Office Legal Counsel, including: Office of the Mayor 600 Fourth Avenue, P.O. Box 94749, Seattle, WA 98124 206-684-4000 seattle.gov/mayor - - Access to non-public areas in City buildings and venues (i.e., areas not open to the public such as staff work areas that require card key access and other areas designated as “private” or “employee only”); Actions seeking data or information (written or oral) about City employees, residents or workers. In all cases, City employees are directed to ask ICE agents to wait to enter any non-public areas until the Mayor’s Office Legal Counsel is contacted at (206) 471-0664. Counsel will review credentials, submission of written authority to conduct action, and determine whether to grant approval of access. These protocols will work in conjunction with existing City ordinance and policy: • City employees are prohibited from asking about immigration status. Often referred to as the City’s “don’t ask” law, Seattle Ordinance 121063, passed in 2003, instructs all City employees to refrain from inquiring about the immigration status of any person except police officers where officers have a reasonable suspicion that a person 1) has previously been deported from the United States; (2) is again present in the United States; and (3) is committing or has committed a felony criminal-law violation. • City employees will serve all residents and city services will be accessible to all residents, regardless of immigration status. Seattle Resolution 31730, passed in 2017, reaffirms Ordinance 121063 and states that city agencies and law enforcement cannot withhold services based on ancestry, race, ethnicity, national origin, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, physical or mental disability, religion, or immigration status. See, also, Seattle Resolution 30672, passed in 2004. Assessment of City Systems All City department directors will participate in an assessment of City policies and practices – including but not limited to employment, law enforcement, public safety, IT, and social service delivery. The purpose of the assessment is to assess City compliance with Seattle Municipal Code 4.18.15, and to gain a better understanding what information is collected by the City, whether collecting that information is necessary, and how the City’s work interacts with federal immigration enforcement. All department directors shall identify a department lead to assist in this assessment by February 13, 2018. City Contractors City departments will issue a letter to all contractors receiving General Fund dollars to clarify and inform about the protocols described above. A communication will be issued by City departments to their contractors by March 6, 2018. County Policy As a reminder, jails are in King County’s jurisdiction and enforcing civil federal immigration violations are in the purview of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, City department directors are reminded to comply with the City’s policy to defer to King County on ICE detainer requests. • City employees will refer detainer requests from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to King County. King County Ordinance 17886 passed in 2014 clarifies that the County will not honor ICE requests for notification or detention, unless accompanied by a judicial warrant. Directive for Implementation To achieve full Department participation in ensuring that responses to ICE requests are consistent with Seattle Ordinance 121063 and to assess departmental compliance with Seattle Ordinance 121063, I request all Departments identify a lead to the Mayor’s Office by February 13, 2018. Contact for Further Information Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions, please contact Mayor’s Office Legal Counsel, Ian Warner (206) 471.0664.