‘There are souls out here:’ Refugee encampment cleared from Kent without solution

KENT, Wash. — Nearly 200 asylum-seeking refugees were moved out of a homeless encampment in Kent on Tuesday. Many of them, including women and children, called the encampment home for months. But with just minutes’ notice, around 5:30 a.m., King County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Kent Police Department officers came into the camp, told the people to leave, brought in huge dumpsters and cleared the area.

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

The refugees said they don’t know what comes next.

“They took our number and our name and say they are going to call us if they have somewhere to put us,” an anonymous refugee told KIRO Newsradio. “So, they close it, and we don’t know where we are going to go.”

Encampments like this one have been hot potatoes in cities all over Western Washington. Asylum petitioners are left in limbo, waiting for word of an uncertain future. Now, they say, the uncertainty grows.

“We don’t have a place to stay,” the anonymous refugee said. “We used to sleep here, so they close it and we don’t know where we are going to go.”

By bus or van, the refugees were taken from the camp throughout the day. The unofficial word is they are being taken to more permanent housing. But no one onsite could give KIRO Newsradio any information about where they were going. KIRO Newsradio also reached out to Kent and King County leaders but got no response from anyone.

More from James Lynch: Man shot, woman pistol-whipped along Mountain to Sound Trail in Seattle

Word of the camp’s closure spread quickly and advocates made their way to the corner of Highway 167 and Central Avenue, looking for answers. They left hours later with more questions.

“Who is in control of this?” refugee advocate Betty Brown asked. “You have to know who is the sponsor of this. Is there any health people coming out here? Are any social workers coming out here? When I was homeless, I had a social worker. The news needs to come in here and see what they are doing to these people. Because they are people. There are souls out here, and I’m not happy.”

James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on X, or email him here.

©2024 Cox Media Group