TACOMA – Today (April 29, 2025), the Pierce County Council voted 4-3 to adopt Resolution No. R2025-139s, affirming the county’s commitment to public safety, equity, and inclusive access to services for immigrants, refugees, and all residents.
The resolution carefully highlights existing legal frameworks, such as the federal Immigration and Nationality Act and Washington State’s Keep Washington Working Act, which clarify the limits of local government involvement in federal immigration enforcement.
“Essentially, this resolution establishes that County resources — including personnel, facilities, and funds — will not be used to support federal immigration enforcement activities unless explicitly required by law or court order,” said Pierce County Councilmember Bryan Yambe (District 5). “I have a personal connection to what we’re seeing at the federal level, in the form of Executive Order 9066.”
Yambe added, “That Executive Order, while not naming Japanese Americans by name, empowered and facilitated the forcible removal by the military and mass incarceration of about 120,000 people, 2/3 of them American citizens. Virtually all persons were of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast and moved to inland desert wastelands, from the youngest to the very elderly, with accompanying loss of freedom, property, agency, and most importantly, due process. When we look at what’s happening today, the deprivation of our values and constitutionally protected liberties has a familiar ring.”
Resolution No. R2025-139s formally expresses the Council’s policy position of limiting local interaction with federal immigration authorities since immigration enforcement is the sole prerogative of the federal government.
Under the resolution, separately elected County officials are encouraged to adopt and share their own policies publicly and report to the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee by August 31, 2025.
“Pierce County is strongest when every resident feels safe to go about their lives without fear of becoming the subject of racial profiling that results in an ‘administrative error.’ Our Constitution calls for due process for all,” says Pierce County Councilmember Rosie Ayala (District 4). Councilmembers for this resolution affirm our community-first values, aligns our practices with state law, and reduces liability by ensuring all employees follow the policies and procedures that the resolution calls on all of us to ensure we have” said Rosie Ayala (Councilmember for District 4). “Resolution R2025-139s is the bare minimum.”
The three opposing votes cited the untenable nature of living in the country undocumented and the message the resolution sends.
“The message of unwavering support for undocumented immigrants is a misleading message, “They may build a life, get married, raise families, only to face the harsh reality of deportation,” said Council Vice Chair Paul Herrera (District 2). “After years of contributing to their communities, it is essential that we do not create a false narrative suggesting being undocumented is a viable or secure option.”
Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank attended the Council meeting to express his opposition to the resolution, saying the Keep Washington Working Act stands in contrast to the United States Constitution.
“I encourage the Sheriff to work through the Courts to strike down things he views as unconstitutional, because he was elected to enforce our laws, not to make unilateral determinations that put the county in legal jeopardy, potentially costing taxpayers millions of dollars. It’s irresponsible,” said Council Chair Jani Hitchen (District 6).
“affirming the county’s commitment to public safety”
AND
“Pierce County is strongest when every resident feels safe.”
The County Council and Exec are failing to fulfill their duties to keep the public safe and I know every resident does not feel safest with the adoption of Resolution No. R2025-139s.
I provide supervision to domestic violence offenders on my caseload who are in the US illegally.
Do you think their victims feel that Pierce County made a commitment to them so that they feel safe and strong?
A very clear example of why elections matter. County residents had a great opportunity to reverse the continuing liberal orientation of its board in the most recent election, and chose not to do so. How has that been working for you?
Elections do matter—and the results in Pierce County reflect the will of the voters who chose representation grounded in equity, constitutional protections, and community-focused policies. When leaders stand up for the rights of all residents, including immigrants and refugees, they are honoring the fundamental American values of fairness and justice.
Disagreement with those outcomes doesn’t mean the system is broken—it means democracy worked, even if it didn’t go your way. Rather than framing compassionate governance as failure, perhaps it’s time to consider that many residents value inclusion, due process, and responsible use of local resources over fear-based rhetoric and heavy-handed enforcement. That is how it’s been working—for the better.
Essentially what this resolution does is to give people permission to break our laws. There is a process for becoming a legal citizen of our country and those laws should be followed by everyone.
I fully support Pierce County’s Resolution R2025-139s as a necessary affirmation of the core American principles enshrined in our Constitution and symbolized by the Statue of Liberty. This resolution rightly limits local government involvement in federal immigration enforcement, ensuring that all residents—regardless of immigration status—can access essential services, live without fear, and be treated with dignity. America’s strength has always come from its diversity and its promise of opportunity and justice for all. The words etched at the base of the Statue of Liberty—“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”—are not just poetry; they are a moral commitment. By aligning with state law and protecting due process, this resolution honors that legacy. It ensures local resources are focused on building safe, inclusive communities, not on contributing to racial profiling or fear-based policies. This is a step forward for human rights and American democracy.
Tacoma, Pierce county, Puget Sound lawless, America has turned to the center and we have to live under the WOKE that nullify federal law! The Feds are coming, when federal funds are withheld they will scream, it is very simple, America has changed, America wants law and order, not murder and mayhem! I will enjoy watching the possibility of some Puget Sound politicians in handcuffs!
I disagree with your comments, which echo the kind of rhetoric one might expect from a failed state or a lawless gang—not from someone claiming allegiance to the Constitution of the United States. Threats of federal crackdowns, fantasies of political opponents in handcuffs, and blaming “woke” policies for imaginary chaos are not hallmarks of patriotism—they’re signs of fear-driven ideology taking root in a weak and misinformed mind.
At least for now. In America, we resolve differences through debate, democratic processes, and the rule of law—not through authoritarian threats or targeting communities with dehumanizing language. The values of justice, compassion, and due process are not optional—they’re the bedrock of our republic. Those who claim to speak for “real Americans” while rejecting constitutional protections for all are, in fact, the ones turning away from what this country stands for.
I am sick of you and your woke agenda, past ignorant comments directed to me stink of WOKE, you defend yourself by implying serving in the military cleanses your ideology, Benedict Arnold also served!
“…we resolve differences through debate, democratic processes, and the rule of law—not through authoritarian threats or targeting communities with dehumanizing language.”
Really? The woke left has made heroes of criminals, supported violence, trashed those who speak out against them, bastardized the constitution, weaponized government, sexualized our education system and supported ideological positions that conform to Marxist dogma. Indeed assassination seems to be on their agenda. Don’t like health insurance industry? So shoot a CEO! Don’t like a presidential candidate? So shoot him! “Nazi” and “fascist” are thrown around as meaningless pejoratives at anyone who disagrees with them.
How are they any different that fundamentalist Islamic terrorists? There is no difference other than the “god” they worship. The goals are the same and the techniques are identical. “Resistance is futile!” There will be “peace” when everyone falls in line with the true dogma.
Take the woke blinders off…
Why do you think that you’re above the law to make your own rules. I hope that President Trump administration comes down hard on you, county & the state of Washington as you feel the need to protect ILLEGALS over the citizens of our state. You & your lemming supporters disgust me! The people have spoken & we want president Trump to get THEM OUT OF THE USA
WOKE IS OVER
This kind of rhetoric is precisely what fueled the rise of the Third Reich in 1939—dehumanizing groups of people, stoking fear, and silencing compassion in the name of nationalism. Your comments do not reflect the values of the United States of America, which are rooted in liberty, due process, and equality for all—not just for those you deem worthy. What you’ve expressed is not the will of “the people”—it is your opinion. And as the saying goes, everyone has one. But in a nation governed by laws and a Constitution, fear and hate do not override the rights and humanity of others. Supporting due process and human dignity for immigrants, documented or not, is not “woke”—it’s constitutional, ethical, and profoundly American.
In an era marked by cultural polarization and political anxiety, one question lingers uncomfortably in the space between pew and policy: To the Christians of America, which laws of the state take priority over the teachings of Jesus Christ?
It’s a question not asked to shame, but to provoke self-reflection. Because for a faith founded on love, compassion, and the radical message of grace, the louder voices now speaking in the name of Christianity seem to have drifted far from Christ’s core teachings. Where once stood a call to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, and visit the imprisoned, there now stands walls, bans, and budget cuts. Where did you go wrong?
There was a time when Christians were at the forefront of movements for justice and peace. The abolition of slavery, the civil rights movement, and global humanitarian work have all been shaped by people who interpreted the Gospel as a call to serve, not to rule; to lift up, not to cast out. But in today’s America, many Christians have fused their faith not with the eternal message of the Gospel, but with the temporary authority of elected officials—some of whom wield fear and division as tools of power.
It’s a betrayal not just of moral leadership, but of the Constitution that guarantees the separation of church and state. When Christians place their allegiance in politicians who promote exclusion, deny science, or criminalize the most vulnerable, they’re not upholding the Gospel—they’re abandoning it. Jesus never asked for a political kingdom. In fact, he resisted one. “My kingdom is not of this world,” he said. His was a kingdom of conscience, of love, of justice that flows like a river, not nationalism wrapped in a flag.
So, what changed?
Some would say it was fear—fear of cultural change, of shifting demographics, of losing control over a public square they once dominated. Others would point to decades of political strategy that turned the pulpit into a platform, where power was pursued not for service, but for dominance. Whatever the reason, the result is a version of Christianity that seems more interested in punishment than grace, in purity than mercy, in law than love.
But not all is lost. Across the country, millions of Christians are still quietly and courageously living out the true message of Christ—volunteering at food banks, advocating for immigrants, standing with the marginalized, and refusing to let their faith be co-opted by political tribalism. They remember that the “good news” of the Gospel wasn’t about borders or parties—it was about liberation, healing, and a love so powerful it overturned tables in the temple and forgave the thief on the cross.
So again, we ask: which laws of the state will you let override your religious convictions? And more importantly, will you follow the temporary voices of power—or the eternal voice of Christ, who said, “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me”?
Because that is the true test of Christian witness in this country—not how loudly you shout, but how deeply you love.
The queen of gaslighting rambles on.
Yawn!