EVERETT, JUNE 3: In a unanimous, 7-0 vote, the Everett City Council approved a tougher law for massage and reflexology businesses which includes setting licensing and inspection standards, operating hours, prohibited acts, penalties, exemptions, and appeal procedures.
The ordinance sailed to approval even as the public comment portion of the Council meeting was peppered with demands to table or reject the proposal.
One person named Dian from Shoreline, Wash. but who regularly recreates in and patronizes Everett for business, voiced concern that a citation under the ordinance–even a misdemeanor–could ensnare violators in immigration enforcement scrutiny, possibly leading to deportation.
Another public comment from an individual identified as J.M. intensified the opposition, saying, “the term illicit massage is associated with Asian massage parlors because of racism. The Narrative that all unlicensed massage workers are trafficked, is steeped in Orientalist tropes, extending back to the Page Act of 1875, the first law in the U.S to bar immigration on the basis of race and forced against Chinese women, claiming that they were all immoral.”
The opposition continued, “With the recent attacks on immigrants from the Trump Administration, we have seen criminalization of massage workers directly lead to them being detained in the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, so I urge you to really think about the impacts this legislation causes.”
When asked about the impact of human and/or sexual trafficking connected with massage businesses in Everett, Simone Tarver, Communications Manager, told EverettPost.com, “Our detectives are well-trained to evaluate each situation and investigate any instances of criminal trafficking should those situations arise. Additionally, social workers from our CARE team (Community Alternative Response) received training related to human trafficking and will be deploying with this team to provide support and resources to individuals they encounter.”
According to Tarver, the ordinance was proposed because of neighbor complaints and adverse impacts reported at “businesses…located along arterials like Broadway, Rucker and Evergreen Way – in primarily commercial areas.”
Tarver added, the Everett Police Department, “is working internally to quantify the number of (massage) businesses we believe are operating unlawfully. We know of dozens currently that appear to be operating unlawfully in at least one way that the ordinance is intended to address.”