Kent City Council passes moratorium on detention centers
Published 2:56 pm Wednesday, March 4, 2026
The Kent City Council joined a growing list of King County jurisdictions to adopt a measure to prohibit any new or expansion of jail, corrections or detention facilities in town with expectations that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) might be looking to add another center to go with its Tacoma site.
The council voted 7-0 during its Committee of the Whole meeting March 3 to adopt a resolution establishing a six-month moratorium on the siting, establishment, change of use, conversion, operation, development, or licensing of any new jail, corrections, or other detention facility, or the expansion of any existing jail, corrections, or other detention facility, to house people detained on behalf of any state, county, local, or federal agency or official.
Kurt Hanson, director of the city’s Economic and Community Development Department, presented the resolution to the council. He said the King County Council had adopted an ordinance earlier in the day March 3 and that the cities of Seattle, Renton, Tukwila and SeaTac have either passed measures or are considering them.
Hanson emphasized the city’s opposition because it already is the location of King County’s Maleng Regional Justice Center jail along Fourth Avenue North and the city of Kent’s jail on Central Avenue South.
Councilmember Zandria Michaud agreed.
“We already have one too many jails in Kent, one that is right next to our community center and right in the middle of our downtown,” Michaud said. “Kent already has its fair share. We need to use our property for other things.”
Council President Satwinder Kaur made a similar observation.
“Having a jail in Kent would be lasting impacts,” Kaur said. “We need to be strategic and thoughtful about how we use our limited land we have in Kent and make sure it aligns with our long term vision and we already have limited resources for our tax base.”
SeaTac city leaders used a similar argument when they adopted a moratorium, according to a King5.com report. The city already has the Federal Detention Center, which houses inmates charged with federal crimes.
Public hearing set
With the Kent City Council’s immediate adoption of the six-month moratorium, which can be extended, state law requires the city to hold a public hearing within 60 days. That public hearing is set for the 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 7 during the council’s regular meeting at City Hall, 220 Fourth Ave. S. City staff will give a report about the moratorium and residents will have a chance to comment.
King County measure
The King County Council on March 3 voted 7-2 for an emergency one-year moratorium that immediately blocks acceptance of permits for new or expanded detention facilities in unincorporated King County, preventing the siting of publicly or privately operated facilities, including potential ICE detention centers, according to a news release from Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, whose District 8 includes parts of Seattle, Burien and Tukwila.
“King County’s land and resources should be used to support the health, safety, and well-being of our communities — not to build systems that isolate, intimidate, and harm the very people who make our region strong,” Mosqueda said. “Detention facilities are being used to disappear our friends, family, and community members into inhumane conditions, often without due process.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has what it calls the “Seattle Area of Responsibility,” where the federal government is looking to expand its footprint of detention facilities — as part of the goal to meet a million deportations a year set by President Donald Trump, according to report by kuow.org.
The Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma has a capacity for 1,575 beds,
