The president of the union representing Seattle police said Friday that he will not allow officers to carry out what he described as a ludicrous directive from Democratic Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson involving federal immigration enforcement.
Wilson issued orders directing Seattle police to “investigate, verify, and document” activities carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for potential prosecution, according to Fox 13 Seattle. The directive mirrors similar actions taken by Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson in Chicago. Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) President Mike Solan responded publicly to the order in a post on X.
“Toothless virtue signaling rhetoric like this has already cost two people their lives,” Solan wrote, referencing the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area during immigration enforcement operations. “The concept of pitting two armed law enforcement agencies against each other is ludicrous, and will not happen. I will not allow SPOG members to be used as political pawns.”
The dispute comes during a time of heightened scrutiny of immigration enforcement and allegations of welfare fraud tied to Somali-run day care centers in parts of the country. Citizen journalists began investigating similar facilities in Washington state after independent journalist Nick Shirley released a viral 42-minute video documenting visits to Somali day care centers in the Minneapolis area. Earlier reporting by City Journal in November raised concerns about fraud in Minnesota, prompting the Department of Homeland Security to deploy hundreds of agents from to the Minneapolis region.
Wilson has previously rejected calls for investigations into allegations of fraud in her city. In a January 7 interview with Seattle-area television station KOMO, she said she was not seeking a probe into reports of welfare fraud involving Somali operators.
“This whole issue is not really about fraud, right? It’s about dividing and conquering,” Wilson said during the interview. “It’s about making an immigrant community a target, right? There’s no reason to assume, based on the identity of a day care operator, that their small business is doing anything wrong.”
Wilson and Solan have clashed before over public safety policy. The two sparred over a change in how police handle drug use arrests, with Solan criticizing the requirement to divert drug users to “supportive social services” as “suicidal empathy.” Wilson, for her part, argued that no substantive policy change was taking place.
During her mayoral campaign, Wilson embraced a progressive platform that included support for government-run grocery stores, restrictions on private grocery stores closing, and a commitment to appointing a diverse mayoral cabinet in the name of “equity.”
The latest dispute highlights ongoing tensions in Seattle between city leadership and police unions, particularly over immigration enforcement, public safety priorities, and the role of local law enforcement in advancing political directives.
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I’m glad to see someone with some common sense standing up to a woke dipstick. It sounds like seattle’s mayor is almost as smart as kamel–ugh.
My thoughts exactly. It’s encouraging to find that every public servant in Seattle is not a complete leftist simple minded moron.
Yep, the little commie is a bright one…