Public can weigh in on Seattle detention center ban
A ban on new detention centers throughout Seattle is all but a done deal, but residents still have a chance to weigh in as ICE activity increases across the region.
As mandated by law, a public hearing is set for 2 p.m. April 28 at Seattle City Hall after the City Council unanimously passed emergency legislation establishing a one-year moratorium on permit applications for development, expansion or conversion of existing structures to detention centers.
“You’ve been asking us to use every tool in our toolbox to get ICE out of Seattle,” Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who sponsored the bill, said at the time. “We will not facilitate this cruel, inhumane and lawless agenda.”
The legislation, passed March 9, installs interim regulations prohibiting all new and expanded detention centers in the city. It also declares a state of emergency and calls for a public hearing to be held within 60 days.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2026/03/25/detention-center-moratorium-ice-public-comment.html