In letter, community groups ask Everett to take action on ICE

Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 19, 2026

EVERETT — A group of over 30 businesses, nonprofits and community organizations sent a letter to Everett’s mayor and city council on Feb. 13, asking the city to implement new policies to protect immigrant communities amid an increase in immigration enforcement activity.

In response to the letter, Everett mayor Cassie Franklin will issue a new directive next week to clarify how police and city staff should respond to immigration enforcement activities taking place in the city, the mayor wrote in a statement Thursday. The directive, a formal document issued by the mayor that instructs city staff to take specific actions, will be her 14th issued while in office.

The letter, obtained by The Daily Herald, asked the city to put in place a number of new policies, inspired by actions taken in other jurisdictions. The letter requests that the city:

• Require Everett police to document immigration enforcement activity

• Cooperate with community organizations to alert residents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and connect people with resources

• Prohibit immigration enforcement agents from using or entering city-owned property, including parks and public buildings

• Provide outreach in collaboration with community organizations to educate private property owners about their rights when approached by immigration agents

The steps listed in the letter were not without precedent. On Feb. 12, King County Executive Girmay Zahilay signed an executive order prohibiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, from using nonpublic, county-owned buildings and property, like parking lots, vacant lots, buildings and garages as staging areas for immigration enforcement, The Seattle Times reported.

That came a couple of weeks after Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson signed an executive order on Jan. 29 requiring Seattle Police to document immigration enforcement activity, as well as issuing a similar ban on ICE using city-owned and city-controlled property.

In a statement, Franklin wrote that her team will utilize the feedback from the letter to outline the city’s protocols for responding to immigration enforcement activity in Everett and put protections in place within the city’s legal authority.

“Next week I will be issuing a Mayoral Directive that outlines this,” Franklin wrote. “It will include further clarification of how police respond at the scene of immigration enforcement activities, actions city staff will take should immigration officers appear on city property, and ongoing collaboration with community groups.”

The letter, sent to Everett’s mayor and city council on Feb. 13, states that the immigrant families in the city are experiencing “real fear,” it reads, and that some residents are afraid to leave their homes.

“Participation in after-school programs has dropped. Businesses serving immigrant communities are reporting a reduction in sales of 50% – 90%, because families are afraid to be out and about,” the letter reads. “A local grocer has even begun offering delivery because foot traffic has fallen so sharply. Food banks on Casino Road are seeing fewer visits — not because hunger has gone away, but because people are scared.”

The 33 organizations that signed the letter included Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest, the Everett Station District Alliance and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation of Puget Sound, among others. When reached for comment, one organization that signed the letter requested it not be named publicly, due to fear of retaliation.

“I deeply appreciate the many community partners who I’ve reached out to and who have shared their thoughts with me in recent weeks about the very troubling federal immigration enforcement occurring in our city,” Franklin wrote in her statement. “The concerns are serious and call for a thoughtful, informed response shaped by those with lived experience.”

Lauren McGowan, the executive director of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation Puget Sound, known as LISC, added the organization’s support to the letter, saying the nonprofit is concerned about broader immigration policy and the effects it has started to have on local businesses, she said.

“I don’t think anybody has the perfect answers at the moment, but bringing together the city to say ‘What can we do?’” McGowan said. “What can we learn from what’s happening in other parts of our region to make sure that we’re continuing to create safe and stable places for our families and small businesses?”

Van Dinh-Kuno, the executive director of Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest, a local nonprofit that helps immigrants with job placement, English classes and referrals to services, said fear from the increased federal immigration enforcement since Donald Trump took office last year has impacted her nonprofit. Many are fearful to attend in-person English classes, she said, forcing the organization to move some of the lessons online.

Dinh-Kuno said cities like Everett have highlighted the fact that they don’t enforce federal immigration law, per state guidance, and that Everett police have connected with community members in a positive way. But she said she decided to add her organization’s support to the letter because she felt the city could do more to protect immigrant communities.

“We still have 32 months left (of the presidential term),” Dinh-Kuno said. “I don’t know what our community will look like after another 32 months, living in fear and being terrorized constantly.”

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.