Councilmembers Gonzalez, Herbold issue reminder of rights after South Park situation

| South Park | West Seattle news

Just in from Councilmembers Lorena González and Lisa Herbold, after word of an incident at 14th/Cloverdale in South Park today:

As residents of West Seattle, we are heartened by the power of the South Park community in action reported to us earlier today. This morning, U.S. I.C.E. agents were said to have requested access to a residential building to serve a warrant. The owner of this building rightly turned to a trusted advocate in the neighborhood for assistance about responding first. As luck would have it, this advocate was meeting with a City of Seattle employee, and Seattle as a welcoming city took swift action.

The three individuals – armed with knowledge from a Know Your Rights training – checked for key things that make a warrant legal and actionable. The administrative warrant held by the I.C.E. agents did not meet the legal threshold that would allow them to legally enter the building. Denied entry, the I.C.E. agents stated they would wait in their cars. The three were soon joined by members of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network’s Rapid Response Team, who helped monitor the situation and photographed the agents’ unmarked cars. The agents soon dispersed. To the knowledge of those on the scene, no one was detained by agents at or near the apartment building today.

What happened this morning is a terrifying reminder that knowing your rights also means knowing what to do if I.C.E. shows up. Knowing what to look for or whom to turn to in the moment is vital to ensuring that legal processes are followed and, thus, preventing a catastrophic outcome.

Unequivocally verifying that an enforcement action is taking place before posting it on social media, is crucial to preventing the unnecessary spreading of fear or panic within our immigrant neighbors and communities. If you believe you are seeing an enforcement action taking place, report it to the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network hotline at 844-RAID-REP (844-724-3737). Resources, in multiple languages, to Know Your Rights can be found at: OneAmerica, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, or with civil-rights organizations like ACLU.

The instinct and care to look out for one another and your neighbors is what makes Seattle a welcoming city. We applaud the bravery and quick thinking of our three community members and Rapid Responders from Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network to help at least one family stay together today.

Swede. November 16, 2017 (5:29 pm)

Feels a lot like Poland in 1939…

Brewmeister November 17, 2017 (7:51 am)

Far from it.
watertowersmitty November 17, 2017 (10:41 am)

That’s a HUGE disservice to 1939.

Wow.

Brenda November 16, 2017 (7:01 pm)

ICE is there for a reason. Let them do their jobs.

German November 16, 2017 (7:43 pm)

Swede captures this perfectly. Absolutely chilling.

This is happening on our very own continent, where so many of are are ourselves the children of immigrants.

Mike November 16, 2017 (8:25 pm)

There are very few who are native here. You’re either an immigrant or child of immigrants. I don’t believe these actions to be remotely like Poland in 1939. We’ve yet to have I.C.E agents slaughter, rape and shoot people in the head to get people to leave a residence. Current events are not moral, they’re not taking into consideration kids that have no choice in the situation, but they are far far far from Poland 1939.

Gawdger November 16, 2017 (8:14 pm)

What was the charging action for the defendant(s) on the warrant?

Jafo November 16, 2017 (8:17 pm)

This story lacks context. Perhaps the agents were simply attempting to contact an illegal alien whose sole offense(s) were crossing the border without permission, working without authorization (or fraudulently using someone else’s social security number), or had failed to appear (absconded) from immigration court proceedings. Or, of greater concern, perhaps the agents were attempting to locate and arrest a criminal alien (felon) with a serious criminal history and/or an individual posing a danger to society. Whichever it may be, these agents were lawfully executing their duties and don’t deserve to be compared to war criminals. I mean, really, this hatred of law enforcement has gone too far. Consider what you are saying (posting).

M November 16, 2017 (8:53 pm)

JAFO–The agents were not lawfully executing their duties. That is the whole point of the article and the reason they were turned away.

dftl November 16, 2017 (8:26 pm)

Legal immigration = good. Illegal immigration = bad.

Anonymous November 16, 2017 (8:31 pm)

“U.S. I.C.E. agents were said to have requested access to a residential building to serve a warrant. …. The administrative warrant held by the I.C.E. agents did not meet the legal threshold that would allow them to legally enter the building.”

What context do you need?

Jafo November 16, 2017 (9:08 pm)

Without getting too far into the weeds, the context is administrative charges (which can include green card holders who have been convicted in criminal court of deportable offenses, to include a wide array of aggravated felonies), versus federal criminal charges and the attendant criminal warrants. The point being, that just because an administrative warrant for violation of the Immigration & Nationality Act doesn’t allow agents to forcibly enter a residence doesn’t necessarily mean that the Subject of the warrant is a non-criminal. Said person could in fact have a long criminal history.
Gawdger November 16, 2017 (9:27 pm)

You are kidding, right? The original post doesn’t state why the legal threshold wasn’t met or the charging action. Without that information the context is one sided, and is going to lead to many more questions here.

TJ November 16, 2017 (9:04 pm)

The anti law enforcement rhetoric is crazy. This story mentions nothing on who they were looking for, yet ICE is bashed as if they are violating innocent peoples civil rights at will. I have news…even if an illegal immigrant has no record, they still have broken a law and are open to being apprehended.

dsa November 16, 2017 (10:11 pm)

But ICE still needs a legal warrant like any other law agency would. I doubt you wouldn’t want SPD in your home without one.

HappyOnAlki November 16, 2017 (9:10 pm)

So happy to see our community standing together!

au November 16, 2017 (11:17 pm)

Its a bit chilling that some consider holding an agency to the legal threshold as ‘hatred’ or ‘bashing’.

“Consider what your saying (posting)” Excellent advice!

melissa November 17, 2017 (8:53 am)

Thank you, AU. There’s so much reactionary rhetoric here that disregards the information in the press release. If a law enforcement agency has not met the legal threshold for warrant execution, then the members of that agency shouldn’t execute the warrant. To state this is not “bashing law enforcement,” but is an expectation that law enforcement should be held to its own standards.

steve November 17, 2017 (8:45 am)

It sounds to me like everyone IS playing by the rules. They asked to enter, they didn’t force their way in, entry was not allowed. They waited outside for bit, perp didn’t show, they left. So what? This article might be more informative if it listed the requirements for serving a proper warrant and entry. Or, what in particular Immigrant Solidarity is looking for. For example, it must be signed by a Judge, or whatever. There are many ways Police can gain entry to a residence without a warrant, legally, but it appears the ICE agents are not so aggressive. I don’t know. There’s no info about why the suspects were sought. Maybe their crimes, if any, are very low level.

alkiobserver November 17, 2017 (3:23 pm)

I see this post as oddly hypocritical in that there is such ardent, self-righteous fervor in ensuring the “legal threshold” is precisely met by ICE while at the same time completely overlooking, or just ignoring the fact that the ICE agents were there because the person they were looking for did not meet that same threshold precisely in the first place.

KBear November 17, 2017 (10:48 pm)

I don’t want ICE agents threatening my neighbors. I wish my other neighbors felt the same way.

Mike November 18, 2017 (8:52 am)

Threatening? I read they showed up with a warrant and just could not get into the building to serve the warrant at the residence doorstep. Sounds like they need a better warrant to uphold our laws. I don’t blame ICE agents, I blame voters for allowing a half wit moron twitter junkie to take over the oval office.

ScubaFrog November 18, 2017 (3:15 pm)

After listening to many Jews from Israel (post election), naturally they *get* why this type of behavior is so stunning and scary in modernity. It does indeed harken back to a dark time. One can’t compare trump to hitler, that’s asinine and insulting to the latter’s 12M+ victims. One can however make historical comparisons to the pre 1939 invasion, and what’s going on in America today. I side with the scholars, and historians, this is very scary. Thankfully trump’s a stupid man. His Special Prosecutor and failed presidency are proving that daily. Sadly the next dictator-wannabe-trump might not be an imbecile. America votes or this is what happens.

Jim November 18, 2017 (4:34 pm)

Officers attempting to enforce laws that have been on the books for decades equals “dictator-wannabe” ??

Exaggerate much?

LarryB November 18, 2017 (11:07 pm)

With insufficient or defective warrants, and who fled when a camera was pointed at them. Yeah, protect and serve. Right.

This sort of thing is chilling and awful. Not in my country. We are a nation of immigrants and should welcome people who come here to work hard and do difficult jobs.