Adams County violated state law when it collaborated with federal immigration enforcement, a Spokane County judge ruled Friday.
Spokane County Superior Court Judge Marla Polin ruled that the Adams County sheriff's office violated the Keep Washington Working Act in multiple ways" as it sent lists of people in custody to federal immigration enforcement, shared release times and let immigration authorities interview someone in custody.
Polin ordered the county to stop engaging in unlawful conduct and to revise its policies so they are compliant with state law.
The ruling comes after Attorney General Nick Brown sued Adams County, in 2025, alleging that the small Eastern Washington county was helping immigration officials arrest people at the county jail and sharing personal information of Washington residents with immigration officials.
The Keep Washington Working Act, passed in 2019, tells local law enforcement agencies to play little part in helping the federal government arrest or deport undocumented immigrants.
Brown alleged that Adams County has been violating that law since 2022, but abruptly broke off negotiations with the state after President Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term. The county retained lawyers from America First Legal, an organization founded by Trump's new chief of staff Stephen Miller.
“This is a victory for the rights and dignity of all Washingtonians, regardless of where they were born, and an affirmation that local law enforcement cannot be co-opted by the federal government,” Brown said in a statement Friday. “Today’s ruling allows our state to continue building trust and confidence between law enforcement and immigrant communities as the federal administration undermines those efforts with its draconian policies.”
Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner said when the lawsuit was filed that the department would "continue to do our jobs."
“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,” Wagner said at the time.
Wagner was one of a handful of county sheriffs who said, in 2019, that they would not enforce Washington’s newly passed gun laws because he did not think they were constitutional.
According to Polin's ruling, Wagner testified that even after the state brought its lawsuit, "he still consulted with federal immigration authorities" about entering into an agreement deputizing local officers to perform immigration duties, which is prohibited by state law.
Wagner said Friday that he strongly disagrees with the court ruling and will appeal.
"I firmly believe that no law should prevent local law enforcement from working with federal authorities when doing so can help keep violent criminals off our streets and protect law-abiding residents," Wagner said in a prepared statement. "Our State and its current administration continue to support sanctuary state policies that, in my opinion, place unnecessary restrictions on law enforcement.
Keep Washington Working changed what, in some parts of the state, had been routine cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It’s a big reason Washington is considered a so-called sanctuary state, though that term is unofficial and has no set definition.
Under state law, local police agencies can’t ask about someone’s immigration status unless it’s relevant to a criminal investigation, and they also can’t arrest or detain someone solely to determine their immigration status. (Being in the United States illegally is a civil offense, not a criminal one.)
The law prohibits local law enforcement from disclosing private information that isn’t involved in a criminal case to federal immigration authorities. There are exceptions. Local authorities, for instance, cannot be barred from sharing information with federal authorities about a person’s immigration status, but they may not share information like a person’s home address, jail release date or court dates.
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