Right now the Seattle City Council is considering a proposal to expand a cloud-based surveillance camera pilot program. This program puts workers and our loved ones who are already most heavily targeted by the federal government, like immigrant workers, refugee workers, and queer workers, at even further risk. We submitted written testimony in strong opposition to this proposal today (below). You can do the same by clicking here. The time is now to let the Seattle City Council know: we expect you to stand against the Trump regime, not make its anti-worker, anti-immigrant agenda easier.
We write to express our opposition to any expansion of the surveillance camera pilot program, and to Council Bills 121052 and 121053. Our organization is dedicated to advancing the rights of workers across our city, particularly those who are at highest risk of experiencing workplace abuse because of their race, nationality, sexual orientation and gender identity, or because they have been involved in reporting legal violations. We understand that workers face many barriers to knowing and enforcing their rights, and that broader national nativist sentiments have made it particularly dangerous for immigrant and refugee communities to live and work in Seattle and to come forward to report workplace abuses.
Over the past several months we have been encouraged by local leadership affirming our City’s commitment to defending immigrant and refugee communities, LGBTQIA+ communities, and communities of color - all of whom are disproportionately targeted by a wide range of harmful federal initiatives. Both the City Council and the Mayor have expressed a desire to remain steadfast and to protect all of our city’s residents. In a political climate where rash, reckless policy has become the norm, Seattle must stand for something different.
A decision to expand this pilot project after such a short time, with no evaluation, is out of step with thoughtful policy making and at odds with our shared commitment to defending our most vulnerable neighbors and loved ones.
We are deeply concerned that expanded use of cloud-based surveillance systems locally will create infrastructure that the federal government will access to target immigrants and refugees, communities of color, LGBTQIA+ people, and other communities. This is not a hypothetical risk - we have already seen multiple flagrant violations of the Keep Washington Working Act by the federal government.
As a result, Washington residents’ personal health information, drivers license, and vehicle data have been turned over to the federal government which has expressly articulated its objectives: to detain, prosecute, and deport our community members. Given what we know today, there is too great a risk that these technologies will make it easier for them to do just that.
In addition, the Seattle Office of Civil Rights has thoroughly analyzed the civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy risks presented by this proposed expansion. We urge the Council to follow its recommendation to pursue alternatives to expansion of surveillance technology through these proposals.
Given the substantial budget challenges we currently face, it would be prudent to wait until we have the results of the evaluation currently underway. The University of Pennsylvania’s research on this program is already in process, with initial findings available in 2026. We don’t know the efficacy of the program, but we do know the risks. It is unnecessary to create more potential for Seattle residents’ data to be used against our communities when we can avoid doing so.
We support the recommendations already shared by other organizations embedded in immigrant communities and the Office of Civil Rights:
Delay expansion of the surveillance pilot program until comprehensive evaluation data is available and federal data access protections can be guaranteed
Conduct meaningful community engagement with immigrant, refugee, and other vulnerable communities about the impacts of these technologies
Invest instead in the evidence-based community safety programs that actually reduce harm while strengthening community trust
Seattle's commitment to being a welcoming city cannot just be words on paper - our actions must reflect our values. At a time when we must redouble our commitment to maintaining trust in our local institutions, these proposals are a significant step in the wrong direction. We urge you to reject them.