The U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” on Thursday, May 29, creating confusion among cities, counties and states that were included in the list but considered themselves to be cooperative with the federal immigration officials.
Lewis County was among those listed.
Unsurprisingly, the state of Washington, which identifies itself as a sanctuary state, was included on the list.
More shocking, however, is the inclusion of all but four Washington counties — Adams, Douglas, Klickitat and Yakima — on the list. Equally odd was the inclusion of the City of Yakima on the list despite Yakima County not receiving the same designation.
The list was removed from the Homeland Security website Sunday, June 1, after critiques and comments from local law enforcement agencies across the country and other jurisdictions, many of which are generally supportive of the Trump administration's efforts to carry out mass deportations.
The National Sheriffs’ Association was one of the first to respond to the list, with the organization's president, Sheriff Kieran Donahue of Canyon County, Idaho, posting a statement on Saturday criticizing the Department of Homeland Security for a lack of transparency, as first reported by the Idaho Statesman.
“This list was created without any input, criteria of compliance, or a mechanism for how to object to the designation,” Donahue said. “Sheriffs nationwide have no way to know what they must do or not do to avoid this arbitrary label. The completion and publication of this list has not only violated the core principles of trust, cooperation and partnership with fellow law enforcement, but it also has the potential to strain the relationship between sheriffs and the White House administration.”
Lewis County released no official statement following the release of the list, but county commissioners offered comments during their regular business meeting Tuesday expressing mild confusion at Lewis County’s place on the list.
Commissioner Lindsey Pollock called the list an example of “ready, fire, aim,” noting the inaccuracy of the list and claiming that its quick removal from the federal government website was evidence enough of its flaws.
Other jurisdictions have responded to the list equally confused, with news articles from across the state and Pacific Northwest detailing similar responses from local governments. The Yakima-Herald Republic quoted a City of Yakima spokesperson saying they didn't know why the city was included in the list. The article also cited the city’s track record of shutting down sanctuary city policy and cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope said he saw little difference between Lewis County and the four counties that were left off the list other than some counties being more vocal about their stance than others.
He added that Lewis County would look at ways to clarify its position as a non-sanctuary jurisdiction.
At the Lewis County directors update Wednesday, Swope moved to add a new resolution to the agenda for the commissioners’ next business meeting on Tuesday, June 10. The resolution explicitly declares Lewis County as a non-sanctuary county and further declares that the county encourages cooperation with federal authorities as long as it is allowed by state law. Copies of the resolution, if passed, will be sent to Gov. Bob Ferguson, the Washington State Association of Counties and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Swope said he and the county will also look into drafting an ordinance to make policy changes at the county level to further facilitate cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
A draft of the ordinance acquired by The Chronicle declares that county personnel may cooperate with federal immigration officials as long as that cooperation does not violate state or federal law or an individual's constitutional rights.
While the ordinance would wipe away any potential barriers to cooperation at the county level, local government officials and law enforcement are still beholden to state policy such as the Keep Washington Working Act, which restricts cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
RCW 10.93.160 prevents government officials or law enforcement from collecting information on immigration status unless related to a criminal investigation, sharing nonpublic personal information to federal immigration in noncriminal cases unless required by law or allowing interviews by federal immigration officials without a warrant.
