Two proposed city ordinances would prevent federal immigration authorities from using city property for detention facilities.
City officials in Spokane, Washington are proposing two new zoning rules aimed at prohibiting immigration detention facilities in the city.
As Erin Sellers reports for Range Media, one ordinance proposed by Mayor Lisa Brown “would expand city zoning code — which already bans the operation of detention facilities in downtown Spokane — to cover the whole city, effectively prohibiting any private property owners from leasing their land or buildings for the purpose of operating a detention center.”
A second proposed ordinance would “bar federal immigration agents from using city-owned property for any immigration enforcement activities, including staging and surveillance, without a judicial warrant.” It would still allow DHS to lease office space and would not cancel the agency’s current lease in a historic downtown Spokane building, even though it regularly detains immigrants there for short periods. It would also not bar DHS from using parks and libraries, which are controlled by their own respective boards, or from setting up shop on adjacent county land.
Read the full story: Two new anti-ICE laws proposed in Spokane
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