Washington AG Suing Adams County For Assisting Feds
Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown has filed a lawsuit against the Adams County Sheriff's Office over recent actions regarding immigration enforcement. In his complaint against the agency, Brown accuses the ACSO of violating state law by working with federal immigration agents.
At issue is a law passed in 2019, the Keep Washington Working Act. The law prohibits state agencies:
...from using department funds, facilities, equipment or personnel to participate in any federal registration or enforcement programs targeting Washington residents solely based on their race, religion,
ethnicity, immigration, or citizenship status.
The majority of police departments around Washington have aligned with the existing law (the notable exception being the Pullman PD). Sheriff's Offices have come down on both sides of the issue.
Why Would Police and Sheriffs Act Opposite?
The answer is simple...police chiefs are hired by their city with their primary obligation upholding state and local law. Sheriffs are independently elected officials and take an oath to uphold both the U.S. and State Constitutions. The oath to the 'law of the land' is what a number of Sheriffs have cited as their primary obligation over the law of the State.
The Keep Washington Working Act doubles as a Sanctuary State law, which has come under fire since Donald Trump became the 47th President of the United States. President Trump issued an executive order that threatens federal funding for states that use sanctuary laws to impede federal immigration enforcement.
Brown's lawsuit, filed in Spokane County Superior Court, charges that Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner
...is illegally collaborating with federal immigration officials and aiding the Trump administration’s efforts to enlist local officials for federal civil immigration work.
Brown also makes a distinction in his suit that the state will not interfere with federal officials immigration enforcement work, but that local law enforcement agencies are prohibited by state law from actively helping federal agents regardless of the situation.
Brown also accuses Adams County of pulling back from "good faith" negotiations on the subject with the AG office (then Bob Ferguson) once the elections results in November were known. Brown also contends that state resources should not be used to do the federal government's work.
We have reached out to both the Adams County Sheriff and Prosecutor Offices for comment with regarding to the filing of today's lawsuit. The ACSO put out this press release in response to the suit.