This afternoon Mayor David Condon said in a press release that federal immigration agents don’t need a warrant to search those on non-public areas of city-owned property.
His announcement came after the Spokane City Council voted 6-1 Monday night to put an ordinance in place restricting where and when immigration officers could search individuals.
“Federal law (8 CFR 287(a)(3)) says that such federal officials may ‘within a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States … board and search for aliens in any vessel within the territorial waters of the United States and any railcar, aircraft, conveyance, or vehicle…’ Reasonable distance is further defined as a 100-mile distance from a U.S. border. Operationally, these agents don’t seek permission or consent from a local elected official or municipal employee to complete their assignments, so neither the mayor nor city employees have the authority to impede such activity,” Condon’s press release said.
He added, “By city law and Spokane Police Department policy, our police officers and other employees do not inquire about immigration status or citizenship without a specific nexus to an issue being investigated, recognizing that such status is not relevant to our local work. Our citizens passionately testified about real problems that need real solutions.”
