Lynnwood passes resolution in response to ICE activity

Published 3:00 pm Tuesday, March 10, 2026

EVERETT — The Lynnwood City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday outlining the city’s response to increased immigration enforcement nationwide.

The resolution reaffirms that city property cannot be used for civil immigration enforcement, directs the mayor and police chief to provide clarity on city policies to staff and the community, and directs city staff to create a more robust database of resources related to immigration.

Mata first brought the resolution to the council in February, following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis.

“It’s really important that we reaffirm what we believe in as a community during a time when people are being threatened, people are scared and people need to know that on a local level, their leaders care and are going to do everything they can to protect them,” said council member Isabel Mata, who drafted the resolution, on Monday.

The city is already in the process of the asks outlined in the resolution, Lynnwood Mayor George Hurst said.

Last week, Hurst met with city staff — along with representatives from the Washington West African Center, Latino Educational Training Institute, Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest, Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network and Edmonds School District — to discuss forming a committee to provide assistance to families impacted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement detentions, he said. He plans to provide more information about the committee by the end of the month, Hurst said.

A previous version of the resolution directed Lynnwood police officers to intervene when witnessing excessive force or unlawful conduct by outside law enforcement agencies. At a Feb. 18 meeting, Police Chief Cole Langdon expressed concern with the language, saying it could open the city’s officers to federal criminal liability.

Instead, the resolution states that police officers will, if possible, confirm officers’ identities to prevent the impersonation of law enforcement officers, provide necessary medical aid if it is safe to do so and activate their body cameras during calls for service, consistent with department policy. The resolution also reaffirms the department’s emphasis on de-escalation and community policing.

“We are not asking them to go toe-to-toe with ICE should they come into our community,” Mata said. “They’ve been very clear that, if there are issues in our community, the way they’re going to be solved is in the courthouse, and they will bear witness and do their best to protect themselves and protect the members of our community, but unfortunately there’s no protections from this federal overreach, so it’s more of a witness and report type of situation.”

On Feb. 25, Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin issued a directive similar to Lynnwood’s resolution, but it also asks officers to take action if they observe egregious excessive force involving federal immigration enforcement.

Lynnwood’s resolution urges the mayor to ask city leaders to communicate Lynnwood’s policies with their staff, particularly the procedure to follow if they encounter federal immigration officers on city property.

The resolution also asks the mayor to direct city staff to provide immigration-related resources for residents, community members and businesses. Examples of information include legal rights and protections, social service and community resources, tenants’ rights, language access services, and emergency services. While the city already has some resources on its human services webpage, Mata said staff are working on making the information more visible. City staff will also be directed to provide multilingual, physical information to community members.

The resolution goes into effect immediately.

“There’s always going to be people who feel it does too much and people who feel it does too little, but I think if you actually read what’s in here, you’ll actually see a lot of common ground in terms of protecting constitutional rights,” council member Robert Leutwyler said.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.