by Lauryn Bray

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King County Executive Dow Constantine has announced that King County will be providing an additional $1 million in emergency funding to support refugee families in Tukwila. After an application process that will run through March 12, the County will select one or more nonprofit organizations to contract with to provide temporary housing, food, support, and legal services. Money for the $1 million grant will be taken out of the $5 million committed to address homelessness in cities in South King County.

“Last year, King County stepped up to provide urgent assistance to Tukwila that would support people facing the winter months outside. While this additional $1 million in funding will help in the near term, the full-scale response and infrastructure needed for this ongoing situation requires additional federal leadership and partnership with the State,” said Constantine in a press release.

“The number of migrants who cross the border is only increasing, and this puts a significant strain on local resources,” Constantine said. “King County’s efforts are ultimately unsustainable, but we are committed to interim support through June when the State can step in.”

King County referred to State-level efforts to fund support for refugees and asylum seekers including Gov. Jay Inslee’s $5 million proposal for the State Office of Refugee and Immigrant Affairs (ORIA) and a $3 million grant that would go to counties.

The State Senate has a similar proposal while the House is proposing $25.3 million for ORIA and $5 million in County grants in addition to $2.5 million for Tukwila to provide long-term and transitional housing. The Legislature is expected to pass a final budget next week and funding to be available in July.

In December, King County granted $3 million to Thrive International to move families living on the lawn of the Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila into 100 hotel rooms at Sea-Tac’s DoubleTree Hotel. There is enough funding to keep those families in their hotel rooms until June 2024.

Some families who did not receive a hotel room were picked up by the organization Save the Kids, who secured temporary housing for about 90 Venezuelan families at Kent’s Quality Inn. After refugees and asylum seekers staying at the Quality Inn marched on Seattle City Hall on Jan. 30 to request assistance from the City with finding housing, employment, and legal assistance, Mayor Bruce Harrell extended their stay at the hotel by 28 days. Now, time is up and the families are once again facing displacement.

“The community request for immediate and more flexible funding for trusted and community-based organizations is in part being responded to with the $1 million RFP announced today. This is just one resource that is needed to support refugees and asylum seekers, as we strive to make good on our commitment to be a welcoming region,” said King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda.

“I want to thank the executive for partnering with councilmembers to quickly secure this emergency funding, which is in addition to the over $3 million included in the County’s budget last year, and the $200,000 from in the 2024 Seattle budget I added as Budget Chair after hearing the interfaith and refugee testimony last year,” Mosqueda said. “We recognize this alone is still not enough, and we will continue to work on securing additional support for this uniquely vulnerable community.” 

King County will be accepting applications for the $1 million grant until March 12. Organizations must be nonprofits, have 501(c)(3) status, or be registered within Washington State, and located in South King County. The funding will be available to pay for or reimburse eligible costs through Dec. 25, 2025.

“Today King County announced $1 million in additional support for asylees and refugees in Tukwila. I believe that will be in the form of a $1 million dollar grant and I suppose it will go to a provider that can operate maybe one of the empty hotels down there,” said Seattle Council President Sara Nelson at the City Council’s most recent meeting on Feb. 27.

Nelson also said that the City of Seattle will be unable to provide further assistance to refugee families in Tukwila.

“We here at the dais — our responsibility is to the people of Seattle. We spend millions of dollars from our general fund for homelessness services and housing. At the same time, we also provide the lion’s share of resources for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. So we are also doing our part to help toward a regional solution,” said Nelson.

“Unfortunately, if you walk downtown from Third Avenue to the CID to Ballard — all over the city — we’ve got people who very much need resources right now,” Nelson said. “And so that is the tension that we’re all experiencing.”

According to Nelson, Harrell has asked for State funding to support the housing needs of refugee families in Tukwila, “Mayor Harrell has called on Gov. Inslee to release emergency funding to deal with the crisis that we’ve been talking about.”

Nelson also took a moment before facilitating public comment to accuse Stop the Sweeps and other activist organizations of exploiting refugees to further their political agenda before calling their organizing efforts “craven political opportunism.”

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📸 Featured Image: Refugee Venezuelan families seeking asylum are hoping to avoid being evicted from their Kent hotel within the next 48 hours in January 2024. (Photo: Lauryn Bray)

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