Kabongo Kambila Ringo stood outside his tent with his pregnant wife, eating Girl Scout cookies from a plastic tray under the hot sun.
He is one of about 240 asylum-seekers camping on a grassy lot beside a highway south of Seattle. They worry about potential arrests for trespassing by police, while hoping authorities might allow them to move into the empty motel nearby.
“It’s very tough,” said the 29-year-old from Congo, speaking to The Associated Press in French. “There’s not enough food. We don’t even have a way to wash ourselves.”
The cluster of tents covered with tarps in Kent, a suburb of Seattle, has been there since last weekend, highlighting the challenges faced by many communities— even those far from the U.S.-Mexico border. This comes as President Joe Biden aims to tighten asylum rules and address immigration as a political issue ahead of this year’s election.
Some northern cities led by Democrats have seen large numbers of migrants arriving. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has sent over 40,000 asylum-seekers to Chicago, mostly by bus or plane.
A sign hangs in front of an encampment (Via Lina Chapman/Shutterstock)
While the Seattle area has received fewer migrants, its existing homelessness crisis— with nearly 10,000 people sleeping outside in King County every night, officials say— has stretched resources.
Since 2022, more than 2,000 asylum-seekers have received support at Riverton Park United Methodist Church in nearby Tukwila, after word spread that the church was offering assistance. The church accommodates hundreds of migrants each night and has raised funds to place families in motels.
During the harsh winter, many were moved from tents at the church to hotels or other temporary accommodations. However, with funds running low, they have faced evictions in waves.
Ringo explained that war forced him and his wife to flee Congo in 2022. They traveled by ship to Brazil and spent two years walking to the U.S. border in Arizona, where they arrived on March 23. He was detained, and his wife was taken to a hospital.
