Washington Judge Rules Adams County Violated Keep Washington Working Act; County Barred from Sharing Detainee Information with ICE
Judge Marla Polin of the Spokane County Superior Court in Washington ruled on the 13th that the Adams County Sheriff's Office had unlawfully cooperated with federal immigration officers in violation of the state's Keep Washington Working Act, the first time a state court has interpreted and applied the law passed in 2019. The court also issued a permanent injunction barring the county from continuing the unlawful conduct and requiring it to revise its policies in line with the Attorney General's Office model guidance and train its staff. The court found that the Adams County Sheriff's Office sent federal immigration authorities a daily list of newly booked detainees, shared detainees' expected release times, allowed federal immigration officers to interview detainees on non-criminal matters without first obtaining the detainees' written consent, and failed to adopt a compliance policy as required by law. The office of Washington Attorney General Nick Brown filed suit in March 2025, alleging that the sheriff's office had unlawfully assisted in arrests at ICE detention facilities and provided federal immigration officers with confidential personal information of hundreds of Washington residents over a long period. Brown said the ruling upholds the rights and dignity of all Washington residents and that local law enforcement agencies cannot be commandeered by the federal government.
Source: Washington State Attorney General's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 华盛顿州里茨维尔市亚当斯县法院资料图（Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0）/ Adams County Courthouse in Ritzville, Washington, file photo (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
