Rantz: Anonymous donor who gave $50K to house migrants in Kent revealed
Apr 30, 2024, 5:50 PM | Updated: 10:53 pm
The saga of 100 asylum seekers, who have been pushed around King County, may be ending soon as they face eviction.(Photo: Sam Campbell, KIRO Newsradio)
(Photo: Sam Campbell, KIRO Newsradio)
Local author, public speaker and social justice activist Judy Pigott was the anonymous donor who gave $50,000 to house illegal immigrants in a Kent hotel, “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH has confirmed. The more than 250 migrants seeking asylum, however, have now taken over a Seattle park as funding has run out. Will Pigott offer more funds?
Housing activists coordinated, with approximately 100 migrants, a threat against the City of Seattle: pay for housing or they’ll take over a local park. The City of Seattle did not provide additional funding and the activists helped transport the migrants to commandeer a park connected to Seattle’s Garfield High School. That’s when Pigott, author of “Personal Safety Nets,” stepped in.
“Everyone should be safe at night, particularly people seeking asylum. If we have the ability to help we should,” Pigott exclusively told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.
NEW: About 250 refugees’ and their families are now staying at Powell Barnett Park.
I spoke with a man from Congo, who through a translator, tells me they’re relying mostly on donations to keep themselves warm and fed.
The camp went up last night as aid for
hotel rooms ran out pic.twitter.com/AOzsuFp5yC— Sam Campbell (@HeySamCampbell) April 30, 2024
Why did Judy Pigott offer $50K to migrants seeking asylum in Kent?
Pigott said she worked through King County Council member Sarah Perry to connect with the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS), which has coordinated support for the migrants. The $50,000 donation paid for a hotel to keep the migrants housed. She said she felt called to offer support after reading about the housing emergency the migrants were facing.
Now that the funding is gone, the migrants, mostly Venezuelan and some Congolese, have taken over Powell Barnett Park in Seattle. And the progressive activists coordinating the park takeover are making the same demands: money for hotel rooms. One sign prominently displayed on their camp reads, “$$$ for housing, not bombs.”
Via email, Pigott said she would offer another donation to help re-house the migrants. She did not provide further details.
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‘We have a responsibility to assist’
Pigott, a local activist, previously explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH that her decision is driven by compassion.
“No one leaves where they are to go someplace they don’t have any firm information about, because it’s wonderful where they are,” Pigott said of the choice to seek asylum in the United States.
Pigott also rejects to “false dichotomy” in coming to this country legally versus illegally. And she thinks more can be done to help them.
“I think there’s a special process for those seeking asylum and these people need help,” Pigott explained. “They need more help than our immigration approach currently offers and I think we as citizens of a country which we believe is for freedom, for opportunity, for kindness … we have a responsibility to assist.”
Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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