Democrat cities are getting emboldened in fighting ICE.
Minneapolis was just the beginning.
And woke Seattle Mayor launched one taxpayer-funded war on ICE.
Seattle's socialist Mayor Katie Wilson just launched the most aggressive anti-ICE operation in the country.
She banned federal immigration agents from all city property and ordered police to investigate every ICE operation like they're conducting criminal surveillance.
Wilson's a self-described democratic socialist who never held elected office before winning in November.
The 43-year-old Oxford dropout spent years running a transit union before Democratic Socialists of America helped elect her mayor.
Now she's weaponizing Seattle's government against federal law enforcement.
Wilson banned ICE from city parks, parking lots, vacant lots, garages and even the Seattle Center.
Seattle Police must document every ICE operation with body cameras, validate federal agents' credentials, and "secure scenes of potentially unlawful acts to gather evidence for prosecutors."
She's building a legal case against ICE agents doing their jobs.
Officers are supposed to treat federal immigration enforcement like a crime scene.
$4 million in taxpayer money funds the obstruction
Wilson's dumping $4 million in taxpayer funds into legal defense for illegal aliens.
She established the "Stand Together Seattle Initiative" urging property owners to post notices saying federal agents need warrants.
The city's coordinating with radical leftist groups to run a hotline tracking ICE operations in real time.
Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan called it "toothless virtue signaling" and refused to let his officers become "political pawns."
He pointed out Wilson's tactics already cost two lives in Minneapolis.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson admitted he's "in regular communication" with other sanctuary city mayors about fighting ICE.
He's consulting with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on tactics to obstruct federal agents.
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan signed an executive order barring city employees from cooperating with ICE ahead of Trump's February 1 funding deadline.
Georgia Democrats introduced legislation to let cities become sanctuaries and end sheriff cooperation with ICE across the entire state.
This is coordinated nationwide obstruction using city resources and taxpayer money.
Wilson's building systems designed to outlast her administration
The hotline, the property owner notices, the police documentation protocols — infrastructure that stays after she's gone.
Wilson required "coordination between the city and organizations to share information on enforcement activities through a hotline operated by a trusted community-led partner."
That's a surveillance network monitoring federal agents paid for by taxpayers.
The White House warned that sanctuary policies force ICE into dangerous situations where officers face 1,300% more assaults.
One officer had his finger bitten off by a radical left-wing rioter last week.
ICE agents are doing their jobs enforcing federal law while Democrat mayors paint targets on their backs.
Wilson knows Trump can't unilaterally stop ICE from operating in Seattle.
Federal agents enforce federal law regardless of city bans on city property.
She's building the obstruction infrastructure anyway because she's betting Democrats in Congress will defund or restrict ICE before Trump can cut sanctuary city funding.
Democrat mayors saw Minneapolis explode into violence and protests and decided that's the playbook to copy.
Wilson's police documentation creates evidence for future lawsuits against ICE agents.
The property owner notices create legal liability for landlords who cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
The hotline creates real-time coordination between sanctuary cities across the country.
Organized obstruction of federal law enforcement by socialist mayors using tax dollars.
Every Democrat mayor in a sanctuary city is watching Seattle's model and taking notes.
Tom Homan warned in August that sanctuary cities refusing cooperation would see ramped-up ICE operations.
Seattle just volunteered to be the test case for nationwide resistance.
Other cities will copy Wilson's tactics — the only question is how many adopt this infrastructure before Trump's second term ends.
Sources:
- Louis Casiano, "Seattle mayor pushes local police to track, investigate ICE agents' enforcement activities," Fox News, January 30, 2026.
- "Katie Wilson," Wikipedia, January 30, 2026.
- Daria Yudacufski, "What to know about Seattle's socialist mayor-elect, Katie Wilson," Axios Seattle, November 15, 2025.
- Claire Carter, "Buffalo mayor signs order prohibiting coordination with ICE ahead of sanctuary city funding deadline," Washington Examiner, January 27, 2026.
- "Brandon Johnson Says He's Coordinating With Other Democrat Mayors To Thwart ICE," Daily Caller, January 28, 2026.
