BELLINGHAM, Washington. Asylum seekers seeking shelter in Washington state, mainly from Angola, Congo and Venezuela, set up camp in a Seattle suburb.
The asylum seekers moved into the site next to an empty motel south of Seattle in Kent on Saturday, The Seattle Times reported.
The motel is owned by King County and was used as a place for homeless people to quarantine if they contracted COVID-19 during the pandemic. Signs near the camp Tuesday called for the motel to open so they could stay there.
Some of the asylum seekers camped there were sheltered in a church in the nearby suburb of Tukwila, while others lost their short-term motel or rental home when it expired on June 1.
The pastor of Riverton Park United Methodist Church, Rev. Jan Bolerjack, told the newspaper that he has been sheltering asylum seekers for nearly two years and that his resources are overwhelmed.
“The temporary migrant shelter is currently full and we are unable to accept new residents,” said a message on the church’s website on Tuesday. “Thank you for your understanding and support.”
Some people at the camp told KOMO-TV on Tuesday who left their home countries to escape the violence.
“We would like the government to help us and assist us,” Chibuzo Robinson, who is from Nigeria, told the media outlet.
An email Tuesday from a spokesperson for King County Executive Dow Constantine’s office said that money allocated to help with the immediate needs of asylum seekers has been exhausted and that the county has begun responding to emerging needs last November. King County spent $3 million to maintain a service provider that worked to house more than 350 individuals and families.
Millions more in resources are expected, allocated by the state Legislature, starting in July.
“We know that full operations and capital for an emergency shelter, even in the short term, are beyond the county’s available resources,” the email from Constantine’s office said.
Many of those who came to the US seeking asylum have been moving around the state for months.
On Sunday afternoon, three Kent police officers posted a 48-hour eviction notice from King County, with a Tuesday afternoon deadline to leave. The county letter, signed by Facilities Management Division Director Anthony Wright, said people who did not leave would be subject to arrest for trespassing.
The deadline came and went on Tuesday, without any action from authorities. The Kent Police Department and the King County Sheriff’s Office appeared to contradict each other in statements after the deadline by which the agency actually wanted the group gone.
In an email to The Associated Press, Kent Police Assistant Chief Jarod Kasner said the county asked for the city’s help in removing people from the camp. Kasner also said Kent police would not enforce the eviction notice because the King County Sheriff’s Office would not participate in the action.
The King County Sheriff’s Office said in an email Tuesday night that it was the city of Kent that requested the county issue the trespass warning, based on a legal agreement between law enforcement agencies. .
The statement said it would not enforce the vacate order if Kent Police no longer planned to do so, but would continue to work with county-funded organizations to help asylum seekers.
President Joe Biden revealed plans Tuesday to enact restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border when U.S. authorities deem the southern border to be overwhelmed.
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