SPOKANE, Wash. — U.S. Border Patrol and Immigrations and Custom Enforcement agents will need a warrant or permission from Spokane Mayor David Condon before questioning people at the Spokane Intermodal Center, a bus and train station in downtown Spokane.
This decision comes after an ordinance passed 6-1 at a City Council meeting on Monday night. The ordinance is in response to border patrol agents allegedly asking people about their immigration status and making arrests on buses.
Spokane Mayor David Condon responded to the passing of the ordinance and said, "At the City, we are committed to treating all people with dignity and respect. We already have addressed these concerns within our City operations.”
According to city documents, an immigration officer “may not enter into the non-public areas of a business, a residence including the curtilage of such residence, or a farm or other outdoor agricultural operation…for the purpose of questioning the occupants or employees concerning their right to be or remain in the United States unless the officer has either a warrant or the consent of the owner or other person in control of the site to be inspected.”
Adam McDaniel, an executive assistant to the council president, said that this was an emergency ordinance that is now law.
When consent is given, the immigration officer must note on their report that consent was given and, if possible, by whom, according to City of Spokane documents. If access is denied, a warrant may be obtained.
A spokesman for U.S. Border Patrol said the ordinance will not stop agents from questioning passengers.
Bill Kingsford, an Operations Officer with U.S. Border Patrol, contacted KREM in response to the ordinance and said, "The way the city ordinance is written will actually not stop us from performing our job at the Spokane Intermodal. If you read the ordinance, the law they are citing has an exception which is located in the Immigration and Nationality Act. It is that exception that allowed and continues to allow us to enter the Intermodal to speak with individuals on the buses and trains."
Spokane City Councilperson Breean Beggs responded to Kingsford's statement and said, "The law Kingsford is referencing does not allow agents into privately operated businesses without a warrant or permission from the owner or operator of the building. It does not give them the ability to board busses and trains that are in non-public areas."
The ordinance also cites various aspects of Spokane’s municipal code, and the Fourth and Tenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Council members heard hours of testimony from those supporting and opposing the ordinance. Council member Mike Fagan was the only person who did not support the ordinance.