House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Chairman Tom McClintock (CA-05), and Congressman Michael Baumgartner (WA-05) sends a letter to Washington Attorney General Nick Brown seeking information on the state’s sanctuary policies that they allege shield criminal aliens in the United States at the expense of Americans.
The congressmen allege that the state’s Keep Washington Working Act, “prevent law enforcement from inquiring about immigration status, sharing information with federal authorities, and detaining criminal aliens for federal custody, creating ‘little or no interaction’ with federal immigration officials.”
“Washington’s sanctuary policies are putting the safety of its residents at risk by prioritizing criminal aliens over law-abiding citizens,” said Congressman Baumgartner (WA-05). “By obstructing cooperation with federal immigration authorities, the state is actively shielding dangerous individuals and undermining public safety. It’s time for Washington to rethink these dangerous policies and put its communities first.”
Congressman Baumgartner and the Committee are requesting the following from the Washington State Attorney’s Office no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 14, 2025:
- All documents and communications referring or relating to investigations into local law enforcement entities in Washington for their cooperation with federal immigration officials, for the period January 1, 2023, to the present;
- All documents and communications referring or relating to state and local law enforcement agencies’ interaction with ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, for the period January 1, 2023, to the present;
- The number of ICE detainers that Washington state and local law enforcement officials declined to honor from January 1, 2023, to the present; and
- The amount of taxpayer funding used to investigate and pursue legal action against the Adams County Sheriff’s Department.
Mike Faulk, deputy communications director for the attorney general, told The Chronicle that the office is reviewing the letter from the House Judiciary Committee.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown filed a lawsuit March 10 against the Adams County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly “illegally collaborating with federal immigration officials and aiding the Trump administration’s efforts to enlist local officials for federal civil immigration work.”
The lawsuit filed in Spokane County Superior Court says the Adams County Sheriff’s Office has illegally held people in custody based only on their immigration status, helped federal agents question people in custody, and routinely given immigration officials confidential personal information of hundreds of Washingtonians. “All of this conduct expressly violates state law,” the lawsuit says.
Under the Keep Washington Working Act, state law prohibits local law enforcement from providing local aid in that work. Courts have ruled multiple times that states have the ability to restrict such activity with the federal government, the AG’s Office says. The suit is asking for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office to follow Washington law.
In February 2025, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office retained attorneys from America First Legal, an organization founded by Stephen Miller. Miller is an aide and homeland security advisor to President Donald J Trump.
America First Legal (AFL), supported by Cooper & Kirk PLLC and Ard Law Group, is taking action to defend Adams County against what it calls “the unlawful and abusive effort by Washington state officials to enforce illegal and dangerous sanctuary laws and policies and compel Adams County to violate federal immigration laws.”
AFL has previously warned Washington Governor Jay Inslee and other Washington state officials that sanctuary policies are illegal, and that state officials who attempt to compel local jurisdictions to enforce them may face very direct consequences. On December 23, 2024, AFL sent letters to 250 state and local officials, notifying them of the legal consequences they could face for interfering with or impeding federal immigration enforcement and for concealing, harboring, or shielding illegal aliens.
Author: Mario Lotmore
