On Jan. 29, 2026 Mayor Katie B. Wilson issued a Mayoral Directive Regarding Federal Immigration Enforcement. The Directive requires departments to communicate with contractors regarding proper procedures in response to federal immigration authority requests for access to City records and/or access to City facilities or properties.
City of Seattle current policy for contractor’s interactions with federal immigration enforcement is reflected in the FAS contract template, Section 28, Miscellaneous provisions. Procedures are also outlined below.
Federal immigration authorities mean an employee or agent of any federal immigration agency, including the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or any other federal agency representative seeking to enforce immigration law.
Access to non-public areas or information shall not be granted to federal immigration authorities without prior review and consent of the City. All contractors and their subcontractors should notify their City project manager immediately before responding to any request for access to City property or City information from federal immigration authorities. Your City project manager will be identified in your contract. City project managers will then contact the Mayor’s Office General Counsel, who will verify the credentials and authority of the federal immigration authority to ensure the request complies with federal and local law.
These requests may include:
- Requests for access to non-public areas in City buildings and venues (i.e., areas not open to the public such as staff work areas that require card key access and other areas designated as “private” or “employee only”); or
- Requests for City records, databases, technology or information (written or oral).
Please inform all your employees and subcontractors of these procedures.
If you have questions, please get in touch with your City project manager or with FAS Purchasing and Contacting Senior Policy Advisor Selina Chambliss at selina.chambliss@seattle.gov. Thank you.