Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Olympia City Council has directed City Manager Jay Burney to explore a potential policy prohibiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity on city-owned property.
At a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 3, Mayor Dontae Payne said he had been researching what other cities have done in response to federal immigration enforcement.
He specifically mentioned the City of Seattle, which has moved to restrict ICE from stationing its vehicles or conducting activities on city-owned properties, parks or any buildings.
He said he would like Olympia to join a growing list of cities considering similar measures and asked the council to support directing Burney to look into the feasibility of such a policy.
“We will not be complicit in enforcing what I see as inhumane and harmful federal immigration activity,” said Payne to council members, all of whom expressed support for the request.
Mayor Pro Tem Yen Huynh said the proposal aligns with existing sanctuary city policies. She added that local governments must continue to be creative and strategic in their responses to federal actions.
In a related discussion, Council member Paul Berendt thanked the city staff for quickly publishing a public resource outlining what residents should do if they encounter ICE agents in the community.
The resource includes QR codes linking to information from the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office on civil rights, and the Olympia Police Department’s policies related to immigration enforcement.
“The community is calling for this,” Berendt said. “I was pleased to see it turned around so quickly.”
The city council unanimously supported moving forward with the request for the city manager to explore the policy. No timeline or specific policy language was discussed at this stage.
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JulesJames
Repeal "sanctuary city." It was meant to protect illegal residents from predatory employers and domestic violence. It was mean to protect victims. Partisan politics has mutated "sanctuary" into protecting criminals after arrest. Mr. Trump may be the second worst elected American ever (Aaron Burr still holds #1 in my book), but that doesn't justify putting law enforcement officers at risk by local governments encouraging the wet whistle militia to confront arrests of all kinds for the sake of deliberately undermining of the basic measure of sovereignty.
Friday, February 6 Report this
Snevets
Thank you to the Mayor and Council.
Friday, February 6 Report this
bonaro
Leftists have no sense of hypocrisy. During Clinton and Obama, many millions were deported using ICE and there were no complaints. When Trump comes along and does the exact same thing, you people lose your minds. ICE is legally enforcing immigration laws that have been on the books and enforced for decades.
Declaring city property off limits to Federal Agents is absurd and pointless. What will you do when they ignore the ruling...Send OPD down there to arrest them???
Friday, February 6 Report this
Kruz81
Just as stupid as all of you that think any of the sanctuary garbage is real or will stop them. I hope ICE comes in harder than MN and shows you. This is running our country and if ICE is not allowed to clean it up the people will have to.
Saturday, February 7 Report this
JW
Purely performative virtue signaling. They have no ability to enforce this. More time and effort wasted that could be better spent tangibly improving the lives of the citizens of this city.
Saturday, February 7 Report this
Boatyarddog
What are white privileged racists worried about with Immigrants anyway. They are generally great help, dang polite, family oriented folks. It's not like their taking your job, they pay SS taxes. I think some are afraid of competition, because whites are lazy and like it that way. BooHoo to the anti Immigrant Nobodies.
Saturday, February 7 Report this
wolfmanner
Time to oust the City Council. Send in the Feds to take over Olympia and enforce Federal Law. NOW.
Saturday, February 7 Report this
ddttwo2
To boatyarddog, I am so tired of this white privilege BS that keeps getting thrown around. You are correct about the immigrants they are mostly good people but if you read what everyone's saying we're not talking about the immigrants they are talking about the illegals that came in here without having been vetted. So yes open up the jails open up the prisons let Ice come in and remove the illegal immigrants.
Saturday, February 7 Report this
MrCommonSense
We have all seen what has happens when ICE shows up; usually under dubious cover of lies about the severity of the problem; with chaos ensuing. However, much of the turmoil could be avoided by establishing cooperation pre-emptively. Local jurisdictions should create a "reasonable" policy allowing cooperation; requiring a judicial warrant for criminal immigrants ICE wants turned over; local police doing the necessary background work to determine the legal status of arrested immigrants and whether they have been previously convicted or charged with any crime. Then determine which immigrants held, should be turned over. Of course, this seems a reasonable solution until considering if the Administration is interested in any reasonable solutions or simply interested in perpetuating the chaos.
Saturday, February 7 Report this
Localhorizon
Sanctuary policies are often misunderstood. Their purpose isn’t to shield criminals or put law enforcement at risk. It’s to protect vulnerable community members and ensure due process. Local jurisdictions can cooperate with ICE lawfully, using warrants, background checks, and case-by-case reviews. The problem is that the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly overstepped its authority, ignoring civil liberties and due process. Reining in DHS and restoring proper oversight is essential to protect communities, ensure public safety, and uphold the rule of law. Sanctuary policies set necessary boundaries while still allowing lawful cooperation.
Saturday, February 7 Report this
Boatyarddog
Again BOO HOO to ALL the White Privledged ANTI
IMMIGRANT No Bodies. WE are sure everyone knows the Impunity with Which PARA military Groups like ICE. NATIONAL Domestic Terrorists Such as THE PROUD Boyz, White National Christian Hate Groups from Idaho, Ect, come to Olympia because they love to Incite Violence. Here they WILL be Challenged.
Monday, February 9 Report this
Yeti1981
This is a symbolic move, not a solution.
ICE enforcement authority does not originate with cities, and it does not disappear because a city council passes a policy about where federal agents may park or stand. Immigration enforcement is governed by federal statute, written by Congress, and upheld repeatedly by federal courts. Local governments cannot nullify that framework. They can only gesture around it.
Directing the city manager to “explore” a ban on ICE activity at city-owned facilities may feel proactive, but it does nothing to fix the underlying problem. It does not change visa caps. It does not reform asylum law. It does not address the decades-long failure of Congress to modernize the immigration system. It simply relocates the conflict to public space while leaving the system intact.
Calling federal enforcement “inhumane” without acknowledging the statutory structure behind it is an incomplete argument. ICE agents are executing laws passed by Congress and funded through the federal budget process. If those laws are unjust, the pressure belongs on the lawmakers who wrote and preserved them, not on municipal staff tasked with managing facilities and parks.
There is also a practical concern here. Olympia is not a closed system. Federal agencies operate across jurisdictions. Restricting access to city-owned property does not prevent enforcement activity in the community. It risks creating confusion for residents about what local government can and cannot actually control, while offering no durable protection or reform.
If the council wants to lead, the harder work is demanding congressional action, not crafting local policies that substitute symbolism for substance. Until Congress acts, every administration and every city will be left reacting to the same broken framework.
Tuesday, February 10 Report this
Boatyarddog
Immigrant Migrants, are and essential part of Washingtons Economy, they are welcome here! In truth they provide needed Help when our Agriculture is in need of harvest. Few White people will do this labor. If your a complainer about Migrant Laborers, then get Off your LAME asses and do it yourself, but get OFF of them for being available when needed. White Privledge is just that, Complaining about someone else making a living doing something they refuse to do. GROW UP and Get out of the WAY.
Tuesday, February 10 Report this