Hundreds of asylum seekers have set up an encampment at a public park in Seattle after funding that provided them with hotel accommodations in a nearby city ran out, according to local reports.
Dozens of tents popped up at Powell Barnett Park in Seattleâs Central District neighborhood as asylum seekers from Venezuela, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo wait for permanent housing.
The group of men, women and children had previously camped outside Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila in early 2023 before funding allowed them to secure a stay at a hotel in Kent, FOX13 Seattle reported.
Now that the funding for their hotel stay has dried up, the asylum seekers are telling local news outlets that they are staying at the park until more funding comes through.
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Hundreds of asylum seekers, including children, were staying at an encampment at Powell Barnett Park in Seattleâs Central District neighborhood after funding for housing ran out. (FOX13 Seattle KCPQ)
âWeâre waiting for help. We donât want to keep moving every month. Itâs hard,â Jonathan, a 22-year-old Angolan refugee, told FOX13.
Another Angolan man told KOMO News, with the help of a translator, that they are âasking for the government to help us with housing.â
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Many of the asylum seekers appeared to be from Venezuela and Africa. (FOX13 Seattle KCPQ)
Adriana Medina told KING5-TV in Spanish that the situation in her home country of Venezuela is âvery, very difficult for everyone,â which is why she crossed into the U.S.
âEven now, we donât know how much time weâre going to have to camp,â Medina said. âWe donât have these answers. We canât tell anyone what weâre doing because we donât know ourselves.â
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The asylum seekers were staying at a Quality Inn in Kent, Washington, until funding ran out. (FOX13 Seattle KCPQ)
The city of Seattle told FOX13 that it has âexhausted its allocated funding for migrant shelter and servicesâ and has asked the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services to provide additional support.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Seattle mayorâs office for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
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