SEATTLE - Seattle Mayor Ed Murray wants to know exactly what President Donald Trump has planned for cities like Seattle that vow to resist federal immigration enforcement actions.
He's also pitching a property tax ballot measure to raise $55 million a year to pay for increased homeless services.
Mayor Murray unveiled both plans in his final State of the City address delivered Tuesday from a mosque in Seattle.
Murray said Seattle was filing public records requests with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies seeking information about the Trump administration's definition of "sanctuary cities" and what "enforcement actions the federal government may take against us."
Seattle has vowed to protect immigrants and refugees and to not help federal authorities. Murray has instructed city departments to rework budgets to prepare for the possibility that federal dollars could be lost if Trump cuts aid.
Murray said the city will take "legal action" if the federal government doesn't quickly respond to its information requests.
"We will seek to determine the Administration’s definition of 'sanctuary cities' and the enforcement actions the federal government may take against us," said Murray. "We will also seek detailed information about this Administration’s changes to travel and immigration policy including the DACA program. We believe that the rule of law is on our side, and we will take legal action if the federal government does not answer our requests in a timely manner."
Murray proposes property tax for homeless services
Regarding the property tax for homeless services, Murray said the city needs to double its spending on homelessness. He hopes to qualify a measure for the August ballot that would hike taxes on residential and commercial properties to pay for more mental health and addiction treatment and housing.
Murray will also activate the city's emergency operations center for as long as needed to respond to people living on the streets. The center is typically only used during severe storms, natural disasters or massive city events.
The city says it will apply the coordination and communication tools of the emergency operations center to address homelessness in the city.
Murray declared a statement of emergency in late 2015 as the number of people living outside spiked.
Murray's speech, delivered at Idris Mosque in North Seattle, was said to be the first State of the City address outside of city hall.
"As the federal government’s actions serve to stigmatize the Muslim community, we are taking the unprecedented step today of meeting in Idris Mosque, the oldest traditionally-built mosque west of the Mississippi," Murray said.
KING 5's Chris Daniels was at Idris Mosque and tweeted details of his address:
