“There is no conflict between Keep Washington Working and federal law, and we look forward to continuing to present our case in court,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said.
The Trump administration has criticized Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown for allegedly refusing to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agencies.
According to The Washington State Standard, the US Department of Justice recently asked a federal judge to side with Adams County, Washington, as it faces a lawsuit from Brown over the state’s “sanctuary policy,” officially known as the Keep Washington Working Act.
“Washington asserts KWW is lawful, because it does not ‘impede’ federal officials from accomplishing their work,” said senior Justice Department litigation counsel J. Max Weintraub. “But that is exactly what KWW was designed to do. And it has accomplished that end—actively facilitating aliens’ evasion of federal law in Washington.”
Weintraub claims that the federal Immigration and National Act preempts the state-level Keep Washington Working Act.
“KWW contravenes the Supremacy Clause [of the US Constitution] for a host of independent reasons, and virtually at every turn,” he said.
The Trump administration’s filing relates to a lawsuit filed by Brown’s office against Adams County last year. In his lawsuit, Brown asserted that local deputies openly flouted the Keep Washington Working Act for years, regularly arresting people solely for immigration violations.
The Adams County Sheriff’s Department also purportedly shared the “personal information” of Washington residents with federal authorities.
In a statement, Brown said that both Adams County and the federal Department of Justice employ “the same factually and legally incorrect arguments.”
“There is no conflict between Keep Washington Working and federal law, and we look forward to continuing to present our case in court,” Brown said.
The lawsuit, which was originally filed in a Spokane County state court, has since been transferred to a federal district court. Brown is asking that the case be returned to the state, as the allegations relate solely to purported violations of state law.
Earlier this month, Brown also sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, which is currently investigating the legality of the Keep Washington Working Act.
“The Committee’s assertion that our state ‘actively thwarts federal immigration enforcement’ and ‘targets local law enforcement officials for complying with federal law’ is plainly wrong,” Brown wrote in the letter.
“Washington is a sovereign state. As numerous courts have recognized, we cannot be required to absorb the uncompensated fiscal, legal, or operational costs that come with enforcing federal immigration law,” Brown wrote. “The Keep Washington Working Act reflects our Legislature’s judgment that local police should not use their time or resources to assist in immigration enforcement, unless federal law expressly requires it, or in situations where public safety is directly implicated.”
Sources
Trump administration blasts Washington over immigration enforcement lawsuit
Washington AG responds to federal investigation into Keep Washington Working Act
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