Pierce County council votes on moratorium on ICE facilities. Here’s the decision
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- New involuntary detention centers halted for 6 months in unincorporated Pierce County.
- Moratorium gives staff time to tighten definitions, zoning and mitigation.
- Vote passed 5-2 amid public concern and federal plans to expand detention capacity.
The Pierce County Council approved an ordinance Tuesday afternoon to stop the citing and permitting of involuntary detention centers, like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, for at least six months in unincorporated Pierce County.
Hundreds commented in support of the moratorium prior to the vote Tuesday, and 17 people spoke in favor at the public comment period. Many mentioned allegations of abuse and mistreatment at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma and said they would support a longer ban on the expansion or construction of a new ICE detention center.
The vote was 5-2 in favor. Council members Rosie Ayala, Bryan Yambe, Robyn Denson, Paul Herrera and Jani Hitchen voted in favor. Amy Cruver and Dave Morell voted against.
President Donald Trump has directed ICE to explore other options to beef up detention capacity in Washington amid his deportation campaign. Although the Department of Homeland Security has not reached out to Pierce County about opening a new immigration facility, such a facility would be allowed in unincorporated Pierce County due to “the extreme vagueness of our county code,” Executive Ryan Mello told The News Tribune in an interview earlier this month.
The six-month moratorium will give county planning and public works staff time to create clearer definitions on involuntary detention centers (like jails, behavioral health centers and ICE processing centers). It also will give staff time to update zoning standards, in addition to location criteria and mitigation requirements. The council approved an amendment brought forth by Herrera to make Crisis Recovery Centers exempt from the moratorium.
Principal policy analyst Mike Kruger told the council Tuesday that staff should have legislation proposals by the third quarter of 2027.
As previously reported by The News Tribune, the city of Tacoma’s land-use regulations effectively prohibit adding new detention facilities or expanding the ICE processing center on the Tacoma Tideflats. On Tuesday, Kruger clarified that cities within Pierce County, tribal governments and federal lands could regulate and allow their own detention centers.
Prior to the vote Tuesday, Yambe said he is the grandson of family who were involuntarily detained at the Puyallup Assembly Center (also known as “Camp Harmony”) in the 1940s for being Japanese American.
“This is real-time stuff,” Yambe said. “The federal government’s cruel policies are forcing our hands to be quicker and react in the most thoughtful way we can with the tools we can. I think my community and extended family would appreciate that too.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 5:51 PM.
