Late into the evening of March 2, the Spokane City Council passed two ordinances seeking to limit federal immigration enforcement overreach. The next morning, a plainclothes officer with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) entered City Hall asking for a copy of the “Immigration Enforcement Free Zones” ordinance, according to city officials.
Both laws were approved by votes of 6-1: one banned the siting of any new detention facilities within city limits, while the other barred federal agents from using city property for any immigration enforcement activities — including staging and surveillance — without a judicial warrant. The officer wanted a copy only of the second ordinance, Council Member Sarah Dixit said.
City spokesperson Erin Hut confirmed that an agent was at City Hall the morning of March 3 and had asked for the new law. “These documents are public record and they were appropriately provided by the city clerk’s office,” she wrote in a statement to RANGE…