Jordan, McClintock, and Baumgartner Open Inquiry into Washington State's Sanctuary Policies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), Subcommittee  on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Chairman Tom McClintock (CA-05), and Congressman Baumgartner (WA-05) sent a letter to Washington Attorney General Nick Brown seeking information on the state's sanctuary policies that shield criminal aliens in the United States at the expense of Americans.

The state of Washington not only actively thwarts federal immigration enforcement, but it also targets local law enforcement officials for complying with federal law. Last Congress, a former ICE official in Washington state confirmed that at least one murder may have been prevented if local law enforcement had chosen to cooperate with ICE.

Read excerpts of the letter:

"The Committee on the Judiciary is conducting oversight of state and local jurisdictions that endanger American communities through their refusal to cooperate with federal immigration officials. Federal law explicitly prohibits any restriction on communication between state or local entities and federal immigration authorities relating to an individual’s immigration status. The state of Washington not only actively thwarts federal immigration enforcement, but it also targets local law enforcement officials for complying with federal law. We write to request information about Washington's sanctuary policies, including your office's recent interactions with at least one local law enforcement agency that seeks to protect Washingtonians by cooperating with immigration officials.

"Under Washington's sanctuary laws, state and local law enforcement agencies are prohibited from asking about a person's immigration status, from providing personal information about criminal aliens to federal immigration officials, and from continuing to detain criminal aliens so that federal officials are able to take the aliens into custody. Washington law also requires that law enforcement provide criminal aliens with numerous warnings about cooperating with immigration officials and forbids jurisdictions from entering into immigration enforcement cooperation agreements with the federal government. As a result, there appears to be 'little or no interaction' between Washington law enforcement entities and federal immigration authorities.

"Washington's sanctuary law shields criminal aliens in the United States at the expense of American citizens and legal immigrants. In a 2019 report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warned that sanctuary jurisdictions were '[o]ne of the biggest impediments to . . . public safety efforts.' In fact, sanctuary policies all but guarantee that dangerous criminal aliens can be released back into American communities instead of being arrested by ICE and removed from the country. As just one example, in a transcribed interview with the Committee last Congress, a former ICE official in Washington state confirmed that at least one murder may have been prevented if local law enforcement had chosen to cooperate with ICE.

"Additionally, although you claim to serve the people of Washington, your office appears to prioritize the needs of criminal illegal aliens over Washingtonians. On March 9, 2025, you used taxpayer resources to file a lawsuit against the Adams County Sheriff's Office for its cooperation with federal immigration officials to ensure dangerous criminal aliens were removed from Washington communities. In the complaint, you alleged violations such as the sheriff's office '[p]roviding information in response to a notification request from federal immigration authorities for the purpose of civil immigration enforcement,' '[g]iving federal immigration authorities access to individuals in custody' and briefly detaining criminal aliens so that ICE could arrest them. Instead of applauding this cooperation with federal officials—and compliance with federal law—to remove criminal aliens from local communities, your office chose to harass a law enforcement office devoted to protecting its community.

"Given the dangerous nature of sanctuary jurisdictions and their active role in thwarting federal immigration enforcement, the Committee is concerned about Washington’s role in undermining public safety in contravention of federal immigration law."

Read the full letter here.