Local woke mayor in Washington :

City of Langley
A message from the Mayor
I made these remarks at the Feb 3, 2025 regular City Council meeting. Given questions and concerns expressed to me I am sharing them here as well.

I want to start:
By recognizing and emphasizing the worth and dignity of every member of our community.
By acknowledging the fear and anxiety – and loss – associated with recent federal Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in our community and that it continues to affect our community.
By thanking everyone who is already supporting those most directly affected.
I am sorry that this statement has been somewhat delayed and forgive me if my words seem cold. Please know that I care deeply. I have chosen these words because calm and clarity are critical in this chaotic period.

I appreciate Island County’s clear statement regarding the context and boundaries of local law enforcement response, which is entirely consistent with Langley’s approach, and I will briefly review our position regarding legal, enforcement-related information and then shift to address the community aspect.

By law, in the state of Washington, local law enforcement is not allowed to participate in federal civil immigration enforcement activities. This is by design. This separation exists to ensure that everyone in our community – regardless of immigration status – can safely seek help from our police officers and sheriff’s deputies.

Local law enforcement can, should, and does work with federal law enforcement in criminal matters that put our community in danger. However, Langley Police were not engaged by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) and did not participate in recent activities. Nor has ICE provided any information regarding their activities.

The separation is working as it should, but as a consequence, the City of Langley is unlikely to be able to provide authoritative information regarding ICE activities when we are not informed of them – which has been and may continue to be the case.

The lack of authoritative information understandably heightens fear and anxiety.
We have always come together to take care of our community, and I ask that we again rise to the occasion – and we have already begun.
Please inform yourself about the rights of all residents and about resources for people affected by ICE activity. A good place to start is the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network at waisn.org .
Please share information that keeps our community safe and whole – especially our kids and our families. And – when it comes to incidents in process - please take time to verify information because misinformation can lead to confusion that inadvertently puts already vulnerable people more at risk.
We need to be calm and steadfast to ensure that our actions serve to strengthen community safety and justice.

Finally, I want to emphasize that no one in Langley or Island County should fear calling 911 for help, especially not due to their immigration status. The role of officers, deputies, and troopers is to serve and protect everyone without regard to immigration status.

Sincerely,
Mayor Kennedy Horstman