Washington State Sheriff Rips Sanctuary Policies That ‘Shield Repeat Offenders’ 

Criminal organizations and human traffickers are using liberal cities’ and states’ sanctuary policies to their advantage, says Sheriff Dale Wagner of Adams County, Washington.  

“While proponents claim sanctuary policies protect vulnerable populations, they also shield repeat offenders who exploit the system,” Wagner said in testimony Wednesday before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement.  

Wednesday’s hearing, “Sanctuary Jurisdictions: Magnet for Migrants, Cover for Criminals,” was aimed at assessing the implications of sanctuary policies on American communities.  

“Instead of recognizing and respecting the wish and will of the American people to see their communities made safe again and their borders made secure again, the Democrats continue to obstruct the enforcement of our immigration laws,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., chairman of the subcommittee.  

McClintock accused Democrats of returning to “antebellum days” and a view that states or cities “can simply defy and nullify federal law.”  

In Washington state, for example, “when a rural county sheriff’s office had the audacity to cooperate with federal officials to remove dangerous illegals from their streets, the state’s woke Democratic attorney general sued them,” McClintock said, referring to Wagner’s Adams County.  

In March, Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown filed a lawsuit against Adams County, claiming the county violated the state’s sanctuary policies.  

“This lawsuit is not about justice or protecting communities,” Wagner told the members of the subcommittee, “it’s about enforcing a political agenda that restricts law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal authorities.”  

Washington—one of 13 self-declared sanctuary states across the country, according to the Center for Immigration Studies—passed the Keep Washington Working Act in 2019. The act restricts the extent to which state and local law enforcement can cooperate with federal law enforcement to enforce immigration laws.  

“These sanctuary policies prohibit law enforcement from working with federal immigration agencies, such as [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and Border Patrol,” Wagner said. “Even when individuals in custody have committed serious crimes beyond immigration violations, we are barred from notifying federal agencies or authorities upon their release.”  

When local and state law enforcement are not allowed to notify federal authorities of the criminal illegal aliens in their custody, “repeat offenders, drug traffickers and violent criminals” are released back onto the streets and “remain in our communities instead of facing appropriate legal action,” the sheriff said.   

“Sanctuary policies force us to rearrest individuals who could have been transferred to federal custody,” Wagner told the subcommittee. “This strains our jails, wastes tax money, and puts residents at unnecessary risk. The solution is not to pit state and federal authorities against one another, but to ensure public safety remains a top priority for everyone.”  

President Donald Trump and border czar Tom Homan have been critical of the sanctuary policies that are restricting the Trump administration’s efforts to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens.  

After Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said in February the city would not enforce ICE detainer requests, Homan pledged to go to Boston and bring “hell with me.” In March, Homan made good on his promise, overseeing the arrest of 370 illegal aliens in Massachusetts. 

In addition to Washington, states that have sanctuary policies also include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank devoted to researching immigration policy.