Another melee is breaking out among migrants staying at Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila.
I obtained video from the fallout on Sunday after witnesses say an 11-year-old from Venezuela had his bike stolen by a man from Angola.
The child’s mother saw the fight start and tried to intervene. Witnesses say that the man pushed back and swung at the mother. She ducked to avoid the punch and her son was hit in the face, leaving him with a bruise and some scratches.
“The child had blood on the inside of his eye,” one witness says.
An angry mob formed, attacking the man until police arrived to intervene. The man has not been arrested.
After this incident, I spoke exclusively with the mother and child at a separate location with an interpreter, Maurece Graham-Bey.
“So the boy tried to hold onto his bike,” explains Graham-Bey, “and obviously got taken down to the ground.”
Graham-Bey is with a non-profit called “Save the Kids,” and he says that the cultural clashes between migrants at Riverton Park are fueling some of the problems.
He says that family members are concerned about retaliation if they return to Riverton Park and that he is now paying for a hotel room for them until alternative housing opens up.
“From what the Venezuelans say, there’s no administration at nighttime” Graham-Bey tells me.
Meanwhile, Riverton Park Pastor Jan Bolerjack says there is not enough evidence to remove the man who threw the punch from the property even though there were dozens of witnesses to the incident.
“I am collecting information from the police department,” she tells me. When I ask why the man is being allowed to stay, she responds, “I want you to leave.”
Bolerjack has been accused of downplaying the situation and is facing mounting criticism for her handling of the migrant camp at the church.
The City of Tukwila estimates that there are close to 400 people living on the site. Although some have moved into shelter or housing, officials suspect there are new migrants arriving each week.
In the past year, there have been dozens of 911 responses to the church for incidents including the attempted rape of a child and multiple fights. Resources for the migrants are dwindling.
The state is now expected to spend 3-million-dollars on hotel rooms and temporary housing for those living on the church property. Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s office is not saying how the incoming flow of migrants will be addressed.
Instead, a spokesperson sent a statement that reads in part, “border enforcement-and decisions about who to grant asylum or parole to after they cross the border is a federal issue.”
Because the state is deferring to the Biden Administration on the border crisis, Seattle and the surrounding region are turning into prime destinations for people who cross into the U.S. illegally. Word is getting out that resources are available here and that no one will be turned away.