Seattle Developer Martin Selig Tells Protesters To 'Get A Job'

SEATTLE, WA - Billionaire Seattle developer Martin Selig had a confrontation with protesters Thursday outside a downtown office building his company owns that leases office space to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In a video sent to media outlets, protesters Morgan Currier and Howard Gale walk up to Selig to ask how he can lease space to ICE while the agency is involved in family separations. Currier and Gale also point out that Selig came to the U.S. before World War II as a refugee fleeing Nazi Germany.

Selig, who is talking to a Seattle police officer in the video, suddenly leans toward Currier and Gale.

"Why don't you get a job?" he says before walking away.

Selig is worth about $1.1 billion, according to Forbes. He began his career as a property developer in 1958, building shopping centers in the Seattle area. He has been involved in some of the biggest office building developments in Seattle, including the Columbia Center.

His 1000 2nd Avenue building houses Homeland Security Investigations and ICE's office of chief counsel. ICE's local enforcement and removal office is located in Tukwila along International Boulevard.

Local immigrants rights groups have targeted Selig due to his business dealings with ICE. During the protest Thursday morning, where demonstrators linked arms and blocked the lobby of the building, protesters shouted Selig's name to shame him.

Selig is a booster of Republican causes, including Donald Trump. His family came to Seattle in 1940 after fleeing Germany through Korea and Japan.

Caption: Selig (center) watches from inside the lobby of 1000 2nd Avenue as protesters block the entrance during an anti-ICE protest on July 26, 2018.

Photo by Neal McNamara/Patch