Spokane mayor proposes ban on private leases for ICE detention facilities

Private property owners in Spokane would be banned from leasing buildings for detention centers under a law proposed Tuesday by Mayor Lisa Brown, which comes amid a major expansion of immigration enforcement facilities nationwide.

The ban, which requires Spokane City Council approval, would technically apply to any detention facility – which the city defines as a facility for the “judicially required detention or incarceration of people … under twenty-four-hour supervision …” – regardless of operator, though its intent is targeted squarely at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“I think it’s pretty clear they’re looking to expand detention facilities,” Brown said in an interview. “They have funding for it, and detention facilities specifically have had a track record that I believe is problematic: the lack of care, the detention of children, etcetera.”

City law bans any land downtown from being used for a detention facility, even if it is operated by a government agency, and Brown pointed to state law approved in 2021 that banned the private operation of detention facilities. 

However, that state ban was short lived. In 2022, a similar law in California was struck down by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; the next year, the state of Washington agreed to not enforce its ban. 

The mayor argued the door remained open for a private individual to lease property outside of downtown for a detention center operated by the government, a “loophole” Brown hopes to close.

Brown acknowledged Tuesday that she is not aware of ICE planning to open a detention facility.

“No, of course not – we don’t know much about what’s going on with them, but we usually find out when it’s too late,” Brown said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not operate a detention facility in Spokane, but ICE does run a headquarters out of the Broadview Dairy building at 411 W. Cataldo Ave., which was the site of a major protest in June following the detention of Cesar Alvarez Perez and Joswar Slater Rodriguez Torres. Rodriguez Torres was released seven months later after a federal judge ruled in January that his detention was illegal; Alvarez Perez chose to self-deport rather than remain in custody.

The ICE office is leased from a private property owner – Shooting the Moon II, a Seattle company run by real estate agent Corey Sollom and lawyer Mike Helgren that purchased the building in 2018 from Huckleberry Bay, which comprises members of the Barbieri family who own a variety of local properties. The Barbieri-owned company reportedly manages the mixed-use property for its new owners, according to Brown.

Immigration officials are working to expand their facilities for “legal operations” in Spokane, according to a recent article published by WIRED that Brown cited Tuesday.

Brown noted that land-use law allowed her to try to stop ICE from leasing a property for a detention facility, but not other offices. Land-use laws, as the name suggests, can be used to regulate how land is used, not who is using it; banning ICE offices would mean banning property owners from leasing their land for offices of any kind, Brown argued.

The ordinance is expected to appear before the City Council on Monday. Brown has introduced it as an emergency ordinance, meaning it would take effect immediately upon passage.

At least one council member, Paul Dillon, has previously proposed taking similar action.

“I applaud Mayor Brown for taking proactive steps to ensure Spokane is protecting our residents,” Dillon stated in a news release. “Now more than ever, it is critical we be bold with our policies and commit to public safety and due process, regardless of where you were born.”

If approved, the ban would take effect for one year, during which time City Hall intends to modify the city’s development regulations to make the ban permanent, according to a news release.

Editor’s note: A clarification was added to this story on Thursday, Feb. 19, clarifying current state law. While the legislature did approve a ban on privately-operated detention facilities in 2021, a similar California law was struck down in 2022 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2023, the state of Washington agreed not to enforce its ban.