Washington Attorney General sues Adams County, alleges illegal cooperation with federal immigration officials

OLYMPIA – Washington is suing the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, accusing the agency of cooperating with federal immigration enforcement in violation of state law.

The lawsuit, which was filed by the Washington attorney general’s office Monday in Spokane County Superior Court, alleges the sheriff’s office held people in custody based on their immigration status, gave immigration officials confidential information and helped federal immigration officials question those in custody, each of which the lawsuit alleges “expressly violates state law.”

Washington law forbids local law enforcement from using local resources to help federal officials enforce immigration law. The attorney general’s office alleges that Adams County violated the Keep Washington Working Act, which was passed in 2019.

“Late last year Adams County was engaged in good faith settlement negotiations with our office,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement Monday. “But after the inauguration of Donald Trump, 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.”

In February, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office retained attorneys from America First Legal, which was founded by Stephen Miller, a senior aide to President Donald Trump. In a statement Monday, America First Legal Senior Counsel James Rogers said it was “outrageous” that Washington had worked to subvert federal immigration law.

“It is even more disgraceful that the State of Washington would target one of its own counties because the officials there have the courage to follow the law and have been cooperating with ICE to help keep our country safe,” Rogers said in a statement. “America First Legal is proud to stand with Adams County and will fight vigorously to protect it from this bullying.”

Following the lawsuit, Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner said in a statement that the lawsuit was a “disappointing attempt to hinder our ability to uphold public safety.”

“Our deputies take an oath to protect our communities from criminal activity, regardless of where it originates. The claim that we are engaging in ‘illegal federal immigration enforcement’ misrepresents the reality of law enforcement in Adams County,” Wagner said. “We do not enforce federal immigration law, but we also will not turn a blind eye to criminal activity – no matter who commits it.”

According to the lawsuit, the attorney general’s office believes Adams County has violated the Keep Washington Working Act since it became law.

“We’ve been in contact and collaboration with Adams County for a couple of years,” Brown told reporters Monday. “So, for a couple of years, we’ve been helping them identify where they weren’t complying with state law, putting forward suggestions about how they could come into compliance with state law.”

Between May 2019 and January 2022, the lawsuit alleges the Sheriff’s Office shared nonpublic information with federal immigration officials at least 212 times, which included sending a “new in custody” list to federal officials “on a near-weekly basis.”

According to the lawsuit, the conduct “expressly violates state law.”

The lawsuit also alleges the sheriff’s office violated state law in February 2022, as the attorney general’s office worked to ensure the sheriff’s office was in compliance. The lawsuit alleges the department detained two individuals, who were arrested on suspicion of stealing a car, after their charges had been dropped.

While detained, the lawsuit alleges, a sheriff’s deputy questioned the men on their country of origin and connected them with an agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Deputies did not get written consent from the men prior to the interview, and they did not advise them of their rights under Washington law to refuse to speak to a Customs and Border Protection officer, the lawsuit says.

While the men were in custody, staff from the sheriff’s office allegedly received a detainer from Customs and Border Protection, who requested the department continue to hold the men for arrest. While the men were in custody, the Adams County Prosecutor’s Office allegedly informed the Sheriff’s Office that the charges against the men would be dropped for insufficient evidence, which means the men should have been released from custody.

The lawsuit alleges a sheriff’s deputy instead transported them from the Franklin County Jail to Ritzville, where they were transferred to federal custody.

In November, the attorney general’s office notified Adams County it was prepared to file a lawsuit due to noncompliance with state law, though it offered a resolution which would have included staff training, revisions to the Sheriff’s Office policy manual, and ongoing compliance monitoring. The attorney general’s office later sent Adams County a proposed agreement on Jan. 7.

“After President Trump got re-elected, they really changed course, they hardened their position, they stopped negotiating, and they asserted for the first time that state law violated federal law, which was not an argument they had made yet,” Brown said Monday.

Brown added that Adams County was an “outlier” in its noncompliance.

“So, we felt it was necessary to bring this case,” Brown said.

According to the lawsuit, during a meeting in late January, Adams County informed the attorney general’s office “that it was concerned that complying with the injunctive provisions of the consent decree could violate federal law or expose the County to federal criminal liability.”

In a Feb. 20 letter, a lawyer representing Adams County wrote in a letter to the attorney general’s office the county “simply desires to follow federal immigration law and to cooperate with the lawful requests of federal officials.”

“Adams County respectfully requests that your Office end its plans to sue Adams County over its efforts to comply with federal law and keep Washingtonians safe. We expect that decisions in the Illinois and New York cases will clarify whether sanctuary policies such as the one your Office is attempting to enforce against Adams County are lawful,” the letter states. “In the meanwhile, the State and County have better ways to use taxpayer resources. The State proceeding with a lawsuit against Adams County would do a disservice to the people of Washington.”