Facing another hotel eviction, Seattle area asylum-seekers lean on religious groups to foot the bill

Approximately 100 local asylum-seekers, mostly from Venezuela, met with the King County Council Tuesday to ask for help as their latest hotel shelter arrangement came to an end.

While the Council didn’t pledge any new, immediate aid, local religious groups stepped up to help the migrants remain at the Kent Quality Inn for now.

Councilmember Sarah Perry called on the Muslim Association of Puget Sound, which she said previously helped support refugees from Afghanistan, for help. The association will provide $60,000 for hotels for the next two weeks.

“I’m an immigrant myself, and so many people from my own country are refugees … we have a sensitive spot for that,” said Mubarak Elamin, a member of the Muslim Association of Puget Sound who helped make the connection.

Leadership at Plymouth United Church of Christ in Seattle said they would help with funding at the other end of that window, as asylum-seekers wait for county funding to kick in.

RELATED: 6 protesters arrested after descending on Seattle City Hall to demand support for refugees

King County has set aside $1 million in emergency grants for housing asylum-seekers as part of a larger $5 million dollar housing budget. But that money won’t be available to the asylum-seekers until King County vets the nonprofits that could help facilitate housing arrangements. That begins next week.

Before the religious groups stepped in to help, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda noted the lag between county funding being available and the immediate need for shelter.

“I want to underscore that we know that this is not enough and you're seeking solutions for today,” she said.

The City of Seattle helped fund the asylum-seekers hotel stay last month, but that assistance has dried up.

RELATED: Time, money runs low for asylum-seekers sheltering at Seattle area hotels

The men, women, and children at the King County Council’s chambers Tuesday only represented half of the roughly 200 migrants staying at the Kent Quality Inn.

Many moved to the hotel in January to escape the cold after camping at Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila, where at one point more than 500 asylum-seekers took refuge, many in tents. Every day is a question mark for these immigrants, who have come close to being kicked out of the hotel several times as money runs out.

RELATED: Venezuelan migrants at Kent hotel have three more weeks of emergency shelter

“Many of the kids here will grow up in the U.S. —they will be citizens,” said 52-year-old Javier Ponce to the Council on Tuesday. “This isn’t just our future, but yours as well.”

In Olympia, lawmakers have budgeted for long-term solutions such as housing, and local government immigration services. But those remedies wouldn't have been ready for people by Tuesday night.