(NewsNation) — The state of Washington filed suit against one of its counties, saying it broke state law by assisting federal immigration agents.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown alleged that Adams County, about 80 miles southwest of Spokane, has been illegally holding people in custody based on their immigration status since 2022.
The suit also alleges the county sheriff’s office has illegally shared nonpublic personal information of people in the country, including birth dates, home addresses, driver’s license numbers and fingerprints with federal immigration officials.
“All of this conduct expressly violates state law,” the state wrote in the lawsuit.
The suit cites the Keep Washington Working Act, which restricts the extent to which state, county and local police can assist federal immigration officers.
While the county was in talks with the attorney general’s office towards following this law, those talks fell through in January after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Brown alleges.
“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.
Brown referred to Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of policy, who also founded America First Legal, which has been involved in a slew of right-wing initiatives across the country.
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, reported Courthouse News.
“The state’s restrictions attempt to tie the hands of law enforcement, making it harder to cooperate with federal agencies that help keep dangerous individuals off our streets,” Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner, a Republican, said in a statement that also thanked America First Legal.
The suit also says the state law protects 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.
“Even without the economic benefits to Adams County’s important agrarian economy, its residents—approximately 64% of whom identify as Hispanic or Latino—deserve the protections afforded by KWW so that they too may live and work with dignity in Adams County,” the state contends.
