Spokane council OKs $100,000 from police budget for immigration aid

A coalition of local immigrant-rights organizations will receive $100,000 from the city of Spokane to boost an emergency fund for time-sensitive financial assistance to immigrants and refugees.

The Spokane City Council on Monday approved the funding allocation from the police outreach budget, which had been proposed by Mayor Lisa Brown and police Chief Kevin Hall, by a 6-1 vote.

The Spokane Immigrant Rights Coalition added the funding to its Community Justice Fund, which has previously been used for purposes such as transportation to immigration hearings in Tacoma, as well as temporary lodging or emergency child care during those hearings, according to Sebastion Ruiz, policy liaison for Mujeres En Action, a member organization of the coalition.

The funds had previously been slated for the Community Oriented Policing Services nonprofit, which the organization rejected after being offered less funding than in prior years.

Over 20 people signed up to speak on the allocation Monday, primarily in support, with most praising the action as a limited but tangible investment to aid those impacted by heightened immigration enforcement from the federal government. At least one speaker, Hadley Morrow, characterized the diversion of funds from the police budget as a positive sign from city leadership following the June 11 anti-ICE protest and police response.

Opponents tied violations of immigration law to issues such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and worsening crime, in one case encouraging council members to watch “Rambo: Last Blood,” where the eponymous hero fights a Mexican cartel.

Supporters on the dais praised Brown and Hall for bringing the funding forward.

Councilman Zack Zappone compared the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign to Japanese internment during World War II, adding that he wanted to act swiftly to respond to what he believed was an ongoing injustice. Councilman Paul Dillon noted that the council would be closely watching how the funding would be spent and hoped that “down the road we can build something bigger.”

Councilwoman Kitty Klitzke argued that many of those currently facing deportation proceedings were, to the best of their knowledge, fully compliant with the nation’s immigration laws, evidenced by cases of people whose detention was later found to be illegal.

Councilman Michael Cathcart, who voted against the funding allocation, argued that C.O.P.S had lost the funding through a disingenuously convoluted process that he believed SIRC was not subject to. He questioned whether City Hall had “hand selected” SIRC as the recipient, among other concerns.