Overview

• Mayor Bruce Harrell signed two executive orders setting the city’s posture toward any National Guard or federal agent operations and federal civil immigration enforcement.
• The first order creates a Seattle Resilience Task Force to provide rights education, meet with community groups, and collect public reports of alleged improper acts by federal troops.
• The order bars Seattle Police from acting at the direction of federal authorities or the National Guard, supports peaceful demonstrations, and requires visible identification for officers except in limited cases.
• Separate directives focus on immigrant and refugee protections by tasking the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs with “know your rights” initiatives, proposing a 2026 budget increase of more than $4 million, and seeking to prohibit federal civil immigration enforcement staging on city property.
• Harrell criticized troop deployments to cities as overreach, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the president’s authority, and officials noted no specific plans have been announced to send troops to Seattle after recent letters from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi challenged local policies.