(The Center Square) – Despite failing last month, the Spokane City Council reintroduced a plan on Monday to ban warrantless searches by federal immigration authorities on “nonpublic” city property.
Former Councilmember Lili Navarrete proposed the idea in May, which the officials voted on as an emergency ordinance last month. Given the urgency, her proposal required at least five votes to pass, but Council President Betsy Wilkerson sided with the minority due to “legal nuances.”
The measure failed 4-3, coinciding with Navarrete’s last day as the peers now prepare to fill her vacancy on the council for the next four months. Given the progressive majority’s control of the dais, they’ll largely decide who takes that seat, which could help them pass Navarrete’s last act.
Councilmember Paul Dillon reintroduced his proposal to ban warrantless searches on nonpublic city property during a committee meeting on Monday. This version addresses the nuances that Wilkerson had issues with, creating a permit process and establishing means of enforcement.
“This is obviously a pretty hot issue,” Dillon said, citing a local event cancelled amid immigration enforcement and concerns among city residents. “That is what this ordinance aims to address.”
Councilmembers Michael Cathcart and Jonathan Bingle, who represent the conservative minority, had to leave the meeting early, so they did not weigh in on the proposal. Still both raised concerns with the proposal when voting last month, with Cathcart noting that version hadn’t undergone a proper legal review.
If approved, this one would amend the Spokane Municipal Code to expand the definition of “nonpublic” designations to include private permitted events on public rights-of-way. To obtain a permit, the event holder must have signs or barriers outlining the boundaries, attendees must have tickets to enter, and the organizers must indicate that their event is private when applying for the permit.
The law would prohibit federal immigration authorities from entering permitted events without a warrant for arrest. However, it wouldn’t apply to the city, county or state law enforcement agencies.
Wilkerson asked Dillon how the enforcement mechanisms tie into a Spokane Police Department training bulletin that Chief Kevin Hall recently released. According to Monday’s agenda, SPD will now begin documenting instances where immigration authorities appear to be breaking the law.
SPD will post those cases to Evidence.com, which Dillon said could help track these violations.
“This was kind of moving around the same time as that announcement went up,” Dillon said.
Notably, his proposal doesn’t have an emergency clause citing the June 11 immigration protest.
The ordinance also creates a private right of action, allowing aggrieved parties to sue anyone other than the city for violations of the law. Those include infringing on local, state and federal “rights of privacy, quiet enjoyment and travel in private business areas that are not open to the general public.”
Wilkerson’s concern on Monday was that those aggrieved may expect the city to sue rather than them.
“I think we just need to put that out there, because we keep hearing ‘Why isn’t the city protecting our people?’” Wilkerson said. “That’s a difficult thing to hear for an elected, but we do have constraints as well on how much we can do.”
