At the November 8, 1983 election, Seattle voters passed Initiative 28, titled "For Peace in Central America." This initiative outlined the opposition of Seattle's citizens to United States support of the governments of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, supporting a peaceful resolution to the the conflicts and human rights violations in those countries. The initiative further asked that "...federal funds now being used to promote destruction in Central America be redirected to promotion of services vital to the welfare of the City of Seattle" and other American cities.

Initiative 28 also required the City Council to create the Citizens' Commission on Central America. Members would "monitor events in the region and propose further actions" that would further the end of United States support to Central American governments and encourage redirection of the funds to meet the needs of American cities. The twenty members included representatives from El Centro de la Raza, the University of Washington, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, and the Global Reach Consortium, among other organizations.

The Citizens' Commission on Central America initiated and supported a wide variety of activities; its committees included the Delegation to Central America, Central America Documentation Center, Education, Media Relations, and Interdepartmental Liaison Committees. Projects and activities included meeting with various international visitors, endorsing the Managua-Seattle Sister City relationship, sponsoring a Citizens' Commission representative on a fact-finding visit to El Salvador, and organizing and sponsoring public hearings and an in-depth study on the issue of becoming a "sanctuary city" for refugees from Central America.

In January 1986, a resolution declaring Seattle a "city of refuge" was passed by the City Council, stating that the city "reaffirms the American tradition of providing refuge to law abiding persons who have fled...for fear of losing their lives." The resolution pertained particularly to Guatemalan and Salvadoran refugees, few of whom had been granted "temporary safe haven" or political asylum by the United States government. The resolution also urged other cities to voice support for the application of the Refugee Act of 1980 for Guatemalan and Salvadoran refugees.

In November 1986, Seattle voters passed Initiative 30, which rescinded the City of Refuge resolution and dissolved the Citizens' Commission on Central America. The Initiative stated that Seattle's citizens supported the immigration laws of the federal government and that the City should focus on its own problems rather than spending its resources on involving itself with foreign policy. In part, Initiative 30 states that "it appears the Citizens' Commission on Central America has become or been used as a platform for political activities sympathetic to anti-democratic governments and political movements seeking to discredit or obstruct American policies and laws."

The Citizens' Commission on Central America was dissolved in December 1986.