Thousands rallied to support immigrant families in SeaTac - the city hit them with $37K bill A federal lawsuit claims that SeaTac infringed on First Amendment rights by levying prohibitive fees for a June protest

Several thousand demonstrators gathered outside the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac to protest the separation of families crossing the southern border and the Trump administration's immigration policies as part of a nationwide Families Belong Together day of action, June 30, 2018. less Several thousand demonstrators gathered outside the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac to protest the separation of families crossing the southern border and the Trump administration's immigration policies as ... more Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 69 Caption Close Thousands rallied to support immigrant families in SeaTac - the city hit them with $37K bill 1 / 69 Back to Gallery

When Mohammed Kilani secured a permit in SeaTac to secure the rights for thousands of people to protest the Trump Administration's separation of immigrant children from their families at the United States-Mexico border, he didn't expect that the gathering would be cost-prohibitive.

Kilani sought the permit as a representative of the Washington coalition of Families Belong Together, a collection of immigrant rights groups that organized a national day of action June 30 and launched protests across the United States to decry the family separation policy.

The Washington protest occurred outside the Federal Detention Center on South 200th Street in SeaTac, where some mothers separated from their children were held.

RELATED: Connelly: 10,000 rally, register, write letters at feds' SeaTac detention center

The city of SeaTac lists some costs: $203.86 for a right-of-way permit in a non-residential zone and $101.93 for every hour staff spends reviewing the permit application. Then a city municipal statute says that it will impose a charge for the "the actual cost to compensate for its time and expenses" on the event, including, if applicable: street crews, signal crews, police, property damage or any expense for a city employee's assistance.

But two days after the event, which drew nearly 10,000 people, Kilani was hit with a bill for more than $37,000.

That bill is now the subject of a federal lawsuit Kilani and Families Belong Together filed Dec. 21 against the city of SeaTac and its director of Department of Community and Economic Development, Jeff Robinson.

RELATED: Class-action lawsuit: Bellevue-based Expedia overcharges customers on taxes

The complaint said that the fee imposes the effect of "impermissibly chilling constitutionally protected free speech and assembly rights." Plaintiffs hope the lawsuit will let them off the hook for the costs associated with the rally and stop SeaTac from charging fees for public safety services at public gatherings.

The invoice from the city allegedly claimed that Kilani owed the city $30,847.49 for "crowd control - police services" and an additional $5,810.20 for "crowd control - police services," with the remainder allocated to "permit and technology fees," amounting to $37,075.61, according to the lawsuit. Kilani received a "past due" notice for the amount in September.

RELATED: Lawsuit challenges Seattle rental inspections that defy tenants' consent

He and Families Belong Together claimed they never received verbal or written notice of a cost estimate and that if they had, Kilani would not have sought a permit and the coalition's First Amendment rights would have been violated, according to court documents.

The fees are calculated "based on the City's own assessment of how the public will respond to the event," the lawsuit said, and administrators have "unfettered discretion" to determine the costs.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs have not responded to requests for comment, nor have city officials. The city has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.

SeattlePI reporter Lynsi Burton can be reached at lynsiburton@seattlepi.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LynsiBurton_PI. Find more from Lynsi here.