King County moves forward with plan to open old motel next to now-swept refugee encampment

King County said it is still moving forward with a plan to open an old motel next to the site of the now-emptied refugee camp in Kent. Refugees pleaded for months with local government to open the doors of the Econo Lodge.

The asylum seekers, many from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Venezuela, relied on donations of food and supplies for months until Tuesday, when county coordinators and outreach workers loaded them on buses to temporary shelter. Their camp on a parcel of county land at Central Avenue near State Route 167 was brought down later that day, and a county official said workers are in the process of cleaning it.

The county has owned the old motel since 2020, and refugees and advocates questioned why officials didn’t open it up to get them out of the elements.

Officials have previously cited a permitting agreement the county made with the City of Kent which limited how the building could be used: housing those in need of shelter was outside the scope of that agreement. So, officials dismissed the possibility of immediately opening the building.

As refugees struggled to feed their families, cries to open the abandoned motel grew louder, eventually coming to a head at summer meetings of both the Kent City Council and King County Council.

‘Food is finished:’ Refugees in Kent call for help as health, food struggles remain

King County makes moves to open hotel

Meanwhile, the City of Kent’s records indicate the county has been making moves. The county started the application process for permitting the former motel at 1233 Central Avenue North with a pre-application, filed on August 7. A spokesperson for the King County Executive’s Office told KIRO Newsradio on Tuesday this plan is still in the works.

But it’s unlikely to benefit the refugees, who are now split between a Thrive International facility in Tacoma and a hotel the county refuses to identify.

Previous coverage: Nearly 200 refugees relocated from Kent encampment to temporary housing

To satisfy the bureaucratic requirements of opening the old Econo Lodge, Press Secretary for Executive Dow Constantine’s Office Amy Enbysk said the process would likely take upward of six months. That’s even IF the county had the funding the county, which she said it does not.

The refugees’ stay in Tacoma is funded through June 30, Enbysk said, and those taken to the unnamed hotel only have the rooms until about Sunday – far before the anticipated half-year of permitting steps the county anticipates will be necessary to open the Econo Lodge.

Refugees’ housing stalled by pending immigration status

Immigration status also complicates the search for housing. Housing service providers told KIRO Newsradio the search to find the refugees more permanent housing is stalled by their undecided immigrations cases: many of their asylum cases have not been ruled on because of a backlog at the federal level, and housing requirements differ for those who have been granted asylum versus those who have not.

“Refugee status or asylum may be granted to people who have been persecuted or fear they will be persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality and/or membership in a particular social group or political opinion,” the U.S. Citizen and Immigratoin Services’ website states. “Refugee status is a form of protection that may be granted to people who meet the definition of refugee and who are of special humanitarian concern to the United States. Refugees are generally people outside of their country who are unable or unwilling to return home because they fear serious harm.”

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The refugees’ status leaves another dose of uncertainty for the hundreds of people who have shuffled in and out of King County hotels over the past year as piecemeal funding has run out.

At the time of publication, fire, engineering and building services personnel in Kent have not yet submitted their comments on the county’s permit application for the old motel, so it’s unclear whether any significant changes will need to be made to the structure before it’s deemed safe.

City of Kent records show a meeting is scheduled October 31 on the county’s application, but it’s also unclear what will be discussed or decided then.

KIRO Newsradio is working to learn more.

Sam Campbell is a reporter, editor and anchor at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Sam’s stories here. Follow Sam on X, or email him here.

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