On July 4th, Mayor Harrell gave the welcoming speech at a celebration for over 500 new Americans at Seattle Center, saying that in contrast to Trump, “we choose a different path… rooted in… inclusion and a clear pathway to citizenship.” Unfortunately, his actions haven’t lived up to these values. 🧵
Seattle chooses ‘a different path’ as it welcomes 501 new citizens, Harrell says
The pathway to citizenship was not easy for those at the Fourth of July naturalization ceremony. For some, it had been a long time coming.
In 2022, asylum seekers from Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Venezuela arrived in Seattle hoping to find a helping hand. The Harrell administration had no coordinated response. Instead, SPD started picking up asylum families and dropping them off at a small church in Tukwila.
How Tukwila became a destination for thousands of migrants
The first asylum-seekers in the current wave came to Seattle, where city employees eventually sent them to Tukwila. But whose crisis is this to pay for?
The Riverton Park United Methodist Church quickly became overwhelmed, as over 400 asylum seekers slept in cold tents surrounding their church over the winter: families with small children, toddlers, at least a dozen pregnant women, and people with chronic medical conditions.
Hundreds of asylum-seekers found Tukwila church, but who will help?
There are about 180 migrants and asylum-seekers living on the property of a church in Tukwila, and so far it has received little governmental support.
As the church filled beyond capacity, mutual aid groups helped set up tent encampments at Powell Barnett Park, on City of Seattle property. Within a week the Harrell administration posted eviction notices. With no relocation plan in place, many families fled for fear of being arrested.
Seattle says it will clear asylum-seekers from Central District park
The majority of asylum-seekers living outside in a Seattle park have returned to some form of temporary shelter. Those who remain won't be able to stay for long.
Those that remained were told they would receive a two-month hotel stay at the Kent Quality Inn, only to find out that the City never inked an agreement with the hotel. Dozens of families were displaced from the park and never connected to long term shelter or services.
Asylum seekers in limbo as Seattle grapples with hotel payments and relocation plans
Where will a group of asylum seekers stay now that the city of Seattle agreed to fund its hotel rooms for two months?
As our region’s largest city, Seattle should have been leading the conversation, working with the then-federal, state, and county governments and other local jurisdictions on a coordinated response to this humanitarian crisis — not waiting for someone else to develop solutions.
Instead, Harrell’s administration has consistently shifted responsibility. Now, as he fights for re-election, he’s suddenly the champion of immigrants and refugees. But the real test is not what you say when you give a speech. It’s what you do when you’re called upon to act. /
Jul 7, 2025 19:03
