(The Center Square) – King County Councilmember Jorge L. Barón made it official on Thursday: He is running for reelection.
Jeanne Kohl-Welles retired from her position on the King County Council at the end of 2023 after serving District 4, which includes portions of northwestern Seattle, since 2016. Barón won the election to replace her, taking office in January 2024.
“Over the past two years, my team and I have been focused on the issues that residents of District 4 have asked me to prioritize,” Barón said in a news release announcing his reelection bid. “These include ensuring our criminal and civil legal systems are operating effectively and fairly so we can enhance community safety; stabilizing and strengthening our homelessness response system so we can reduce the number of people living unhoused in our region; protecting our public health clinics and investing in our county hospital, Harborview Medical Center, so we can preserve access to health care; and improving the safety and reliability of our Metro transit system.”
Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Barón immigrated to the United States at 13. He graduated from Duke University and spent five years working in the film and television industry in Los Angeles.
He is perhaps best known for his extensive background as a leading immigrant rights advocate, including his 15-year tenure as executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, during which he became a prominent voice against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
The Center Square reached out to Barón’s media contact to ask about the possibility of King County adopting proposals similar to Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s recently announced series of initial steps to prepare the city for a potential surge in federal immigration enforcement, including banning federal officers from using city-owned property and having police verify federal agents' credentials.
“My council colleagues and I have been working to strengthen our existing protections in county code that relate to immigration enforcement, in anticipation of a surge of immigration enforcement activity,” Barón said in a statement provided to The Center Square. “It is important to note that, since 2018, the county has had a strong ordinance that places significant restrictions on the use of county facilities, property, or resources for the purpose of civil immigration enforcement. That's now codified at King County Code section 2.15.020. I was one of the lead advocates for this provision when I was the executive director of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and am grateful that the advocacy we did back during the first Trump Administration and the support of the Council at the time put us in a strong place to protect our communities during the current moment.”
Last month, two U.S. citizens, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis during intensified immigration enforcement efforts. Both shootings occurred amid rising tensions over the issue.
“After the 2024 election, however, I recognized that more work needed to be done, and last year I sponsored two ordinances that were adopted by the county council to strengthen our existing protections,” Barón said.
Ordinance 19892 strengthens policies regarding King County officials' cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, specifically limiting the use of county resources and personnel for civil immigration enforcement actions unless required by law.
Ordinance 19963 amends the county's civil immigration enforcement policies. It updates prior regulations and adds new sections to King County Code Chapter 2.15, strengthening protections for interactions between county departments and federal immigration authorities.
“I am in ongoing conversations with our colleagues and the Executive on additional steps we can take to respond to immigration enforcement actions in our region, which have already significantly increased, even if we have not seen the surge that other localities have experienced,” Barón concluded. “To discuss this issue further, I am planning a hearing on the issue at the next meeting of our Committee of the Whole (COW), which I chair. That hearing will take place on February 24 at 9:30 A.M.”