After a week of nerves and rumors on Seattle campuses, Washington lawmakers are moving to sharply restrict where Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can go inside schools, day cares, and hospitals. A new proposal would require a judge-signed federal warrant before ICE can step into nonpublic areas, a direct response to the recent scare that sent several schools into shelter-in-place mode and rattled families across the city.
Lawmakers Send SAFE Act To Committee
Sen. Drew Hansen (D-Bainbridge Island) is sponsoring the Secure and Accountable Federal Enforcement, or SAFE, Act, officially filed as SB 5906. His office says the bill is meant to spell out that immigration officers must show a valid judicial warrant, subpoena or court order before entering nonpublic spaces such as classrooms, patient rooms or daycare areas, according to Sen. Drew Hansen. The measure is scheduled for a vote this Thursday in the Senate Law & Justice Committee, as listed on the Senate Law & Justice Committee calendar.
What the SAFE Act Would Do
Under SB 5906, early learning providers, K-12 school districts, colleges and health care facilities could turn immigration officers away from nonpublic areas unless the officers present a judicial warrant, judicial subpoena or court order, as laid out in the bill. Schools would also be prohibited from collecting immigration or citizenship documents. The proposal instructs districts and campuses to distribute "know your rights" information, maintain lists of immigration legal service providers and adopt model policies for how to respond when enforcement agencies come knocking, according to SB 5906.
Schools And Families React
Seattle Public Schools reported that six campuses went into shelter-in-place after community reports of ICE activity, though district safety staff said they never actually saw ICE on site and described the move as precautionary. Parents and students shared warnings and photos across social media as worried families clustered outside buildings, pressing staff for answers and a clearer playbook for what to do next. FOX 13 Seattle and The Stranger detailed which schools sheltered in place and quoted district officials and community leaders describing just how quickly confusion turned into fear.
Support And Opposition
Backers argue that the SAFE Act would bolster and expand Washington's existing Keep Washington Working protections to places not fully covered before, including daycares, private hospitals and nursing homes. Local PTA leaders have urged community members to sign in and testify for the bill, according to the Seattle Council PTSA. Some Republicans and other critics are not buying it. One lawmaker told local reporters that the recent school ICE reports were false, labeled SB 5906 "based on fear and exploitation" and argued it distracts from K-12 priorities, as reported by KING 5.
Legal Questions
Hansen has framed the bill as grounded in Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and says he is confident it would survive a legal challenge, a point his office has repeated publicly, according to Sen. Drew Hansen. At the same time, any state effort to shape how immigration enforcement works risks colliding with federal authority. The Supreme Court's decision in Arizona v. United States is often cited as a key precedent on how federal immigration power can preempt state measures that conflict with it.
What's Next
SB 5906 is slated for a committee vote on Thursday. If it clears that hurdle, it will head to the full Senate, then across the rotunda to the House, and finally to the governor's desk if it keeps winning votes along the way. The Senate Law & Justice Committee posts agendas and streams its hearings on TVW for those who want to follow testimony in real time, as noted on the Senate Law & Justice Committee calendar. Advocates and school groups say they plan to keep close watch as lawmakers decide whether classrooms and other nonpublic spaces across Washington should be off-limits to ICE officers unless a judge has signed off first.
