KENT, Wash. — Refugees from Venezuela have one more week in a Kent Quality Inn after previously facing eviction from the hotel.
The families were told they would be evicted on Tuesday, however the City of Seattle stepped in and paid for the extended stay.
Hundreds of refugees had been living at the hotel for weeks, but were initially living in tents outside a church in Tukwila. The stop-gap solution provides a temporary relief for the group that had been asking for help in the day's leading up to Tuesday's deadline.
People began moving into the Kent Quality Inn on Jan. 10. Eli Min, whose family owns the hotel, said they had been contacted by the community group and decided to help them out. KING 5 was told by several people at the hotel that the community group called itself "Save the Children" and said they were a non-profit.
However, KING 5 has not been able to find any details about the group online or make contact with anyone in the organization. Several refugees and volunteers at the hotel said once they got moved in, the community group "sort of disappeared."
On Tuesday afternoon, refugees took to the podium in front of the Seattle City Council to plead for help through a translator.
"We don't want to become a burden to you," one woman said. "We just want to ask for help with decent housing and work."
The group is also asking for asylum so they can get paperwork to start working.
Meanwhile, over in Tukwila at the church the group was staying at, 70 people, all migrants, still remain. King County is working to find them more permanent housing.
Previous coverage: