Washington sues county for helping federal immigration agents
Monique Merrill
SPOKANE, Wash. (CN) — Washington state sued one of its counties on Monday, accusing the local sheriff’s office of violating a state law that limits local law enforcement’s role in federal immigration enforcement.
“The state has an obligation to protect the rights of its residents and defend Washington law, even when that unfortunately requires taking enforcement against its own political subdivisions,” Washington state says in its complaint. “The state cannot stand by when elected officials publicly boast that they are breaking state law and putting their own communities at risk.”
Washington says in its suit that Adams County, which sits on the east side of the Cascade Mountain range near the Idaho border, has been unlawfully holding people in custody based on their immigration status and transferred those people to federal immigration agents to be questioned since 2022.
Sheriff’s deputies have also illegally shared the names and personal information, including fingerprints and home addresses, of hundreds of residents with federal officials, according to the state. The county’s local economy is dominated by agriculture and those operations rely on the labor of non-citizens, the state claims.
Under state law, county officials are not allowed to assist federal immigration agents with enforcing federal immigration law and the state is asking the Spokane County Superior Court to block the county from violating that law.
In 2019, Washington legislators passed the Keep Washington Working Act. The law establishes that it is not up to local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law and restricts the extent to which state, county and local police can enforce it or assist federal immigration officers. The law is intended to preserve resources for other core duties of law enforcement and make sure those in danger don’t hesitate to call for help based on their immigration status.
Until late 2024, the Attorney General’s Office had been working with the county and sheriff’s office to help them comply under the law.
“Late last year Adams County was engaged in good faith settlement negotiations with our office,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement.
However, that changed after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Brown said.
“The county and its Sheriff’s Office suddenly hardened their stance, broke off settlement talks and aligned themselves with an organization founded by a top Trump aide who is among the most virulent anti-immigrant voices in the administration," he added.
That Trump aide is Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of policy, and the organization is America First Legal. Miller “has repeated white nationalist talking points and is responsible for shaping some of the Trump Administration’s harshest immigration policies,” the state claims in its complaint.
America First Legal connected the county to legal representation and initiated a social media campaign against the state’s immigration law.
One month after Trump took office, the county sent a letter to the Attorney General’s Office asserting that it has “obligations under federal law that directly conflict” with the Keep Washington Working Act.
The county argued in its letter that federal immigration law “specifically preempts state law” and that the Keep Washington Working Act requires them to impede federal immigration enforcement and asked Brown to end his plans to sue.
“Cooperating with federal immigration officials makes Adams County a safer and more prosperous community for Washingtonians,” the county wrote.
James Rogers, senior counsel with America First Legal, accused Washington of subverting federal immigration laws and “facilitating the invasion of our country,” in a press release accompanying the county’s letter to Brown in February.
The America First Legal press release came out on the same day that the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs released a statement in late February reiterating that its members are instructed to follow both state and federal law and that the federal government has no direct authority over local law enforcement.
“Washington Sheriffs and Police Chiefs want all Washington residents to know that no one in our state should fear calling 911 for help due to their immigration status,” Steven D. Strachan, executive director, wrote. Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner is a member of the association.
The state argues that not only does the law protect the dignity of Washington residents, but it also preserves the economy. Around 50% of the state’s agricultural labor force is foreign born and the agricultural sector brought in over $12.7 billion in sales in 2022, according to the state.
“By protecting the rights and dignity of all Washingtonians, [Keep Washington Working Act] in turn protects and promotes the economic interests of Washington and its powerhouse agricultural sector,” the state writes. “For the same reason, using limited state and local law enforcement resources to assist with the federal government’s dragnet immigration enforcement efforts is inconsistent with those interests.”
Representatives for Adams County did not respond to a request for comment before press time.