Whatcom Council affirms ‘civil rights for all’ in wake of MN ICE homicide
A sharply divided Whatcom County Council alternatively denounced and excused the Trump administration’s violent crackdown on immigrants as they discussed and later approved a resolution to guarantee human dignity and civil rights for all local residents.
Opinions on the measure split along ideological lines within the nonpartisan elected panel, with members who represent Bellingham and nearby communities supporting the resolution and those from the county’s most rural districts rejecting it.
It passed on a 5-2 vote Tuesday night after several revisions following an afternoon committee discussion.
Council members Ben Elenbaas and Mark Stremler voted against the measure, which was titled “Resolution affirming the dignity and civil and human rights of all Whatcom County residents, regardless of immigration or citizenship status.”
County Executive Satpal Sidhu, who was born in India and immigrated to the U.S. from Canada, told the council that the measure reassures local residents that their government will protect their rights under the U.S. Constitution.
“We as U.S. citizens should be able to condemn our government when they’re not doing things in the proper manner,” Sidhu said during committee discussion. “Is that the way we want our country to be?”
Council members Kaylee Galloway and Jon Scanlon proposed the measure after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killed Renee Good during a Jan. 7 in Minneapolis. Trump and federal officials claimed Good was attacking a federal officer with her car and that the ICE officer was justified in shooting her. Local and state officials in Minnesota strongly dispute that claim.
“It felt like, for me, a line was crossed. These were citizens, some of whom were practicing their First Amendment right to protest, and again — in my personal opinion — didn’t deserve to die,” Galloway said.
Scanlon told his colleagues that he comes from a family of immigrants. He said ICE arrests have occurred locally, both at the Whatcom County Courthouse and at the nearby Bellingham Municipal Court, and that local residents have told him repeatedly that they fear for their safety.
“A lot of this is about a statement of values. This is about us saying what we think is right and what we think is wrong. And there are a lot of things going on in our community and around our country that are wrong,” Scanlon said.
Stremler criticized several of the document’s clauses as statements of opinion and not findings of fact.
“For every one person’s personal opinion is another person’s personal opinion. ‘Immigration activities have targeted communities of color.’ Can somebody prove that to me? Or is that an opinion? It says, ‘erode trust in our legal system.’ I would beg to say that some people are becoming more confident in the legal system. Some people would say that there’s trust being built by some of the activities going on that maybe didn’t used to be,” Stremler said.
According to the measure approved Tuesday, local law enforcement officials should follow the 2019 state law called the Keep Washington Working Act, which prevents police officers and sheriff’s deputies from asking about a person’s immigration status or assisting federal immigration agents. It also mentions that Washington passed the Courts Open to All Act, a 2020 law that prohibits court staff and prosecutors in most cases from reporting people for federal immigration enforcement.
The killing of Good by masked federal agents has sparked protests around Whatcom County and the nation. Several residents condemned ICE during the County Council’s open comment session Tuesday night, and one person referred to its masked agents as the government’s “secret police.”
Eileen McCracken, president of the League of Women Voters of Bellingham and Whatcom County, urged council members to approve the resolution.
“Whatcom County must strive to cultivate a community where all individuals have equal protection and are provided due process under the law, and are safe to pursue their personal, educational and economic goals without fear of harassment, injury, intimidation or death,” McCracken said.
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 5:28 PM.
