ICE official blasts Washington state’s sanctuary policies

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials launched a media blitz on Thursday condemning “sanctuary policies” across the US, including in Washington state, saying they threaten public safety.

Rare tour of Tacoma immigration detention center

“Washington state’s misguided sanctuary law has not made your community safer,” said Seattle Field Operations Director Nathalie Asher. “It has made them less safe, returning dangerous criminals to the street while tying the hands of local law enforcement officers trying to keep offenders off the streets.”

Asher’s remarks came hours after acting ICE director Matthew Albence held a media briefing at the White House calling on the public to hold lawmakers accountable for creating sanctuary policies that refuse to help deport immigrants who are in United States illegally.

“It is frustrating to see senseless acts of violence and other criminal activity happen in our communities, knowing ICE could have prevented them with just a little cooperation,” said Albence.

The federal officials said they were fed up with local law enforcement not complying with detainers, or voluntary “immigration holds.” Under a recently-passed Washington state law, both local jails and state prisons are barred from complying with the requests. The laws also prohibit them from notifying federal authorities when an immigrant is about to be released from their custody.

Asher cited several examples of undocumented immigrants, who were charged with violent crimes and released from custody despite ICE asking they be held. They include Jose Ramirez Soto, who was arrested and booked into King County Jail for child molestation charges. He was convicted in 2018, and although ICE lodged a detainer, he was released. Ramirez Soto was arrested again in July 2019 for harassment and threats to kill. Asher said he was again set free and remains at large, despite ICE requesting again he be held.

King County Jail refused 370 immigration enforcement holds from 2015-17

State Sen. Lisa Wellman pushed the 2019 measure that made Washington one of the of strictest sanctuary states in the nation. She said the bill, known as the Keep Washington Working Act, is intended to protect the state’s workforce in the hospitality, agriculture, and high-tech sectors.

“Our nation and our state could not have been built without the hands of hard-working immigrants who came from around the world seeking better lives for themselves and their families,” Wellman said. “Despite renewed pressure from our federal government, we refuse to turn our backs on our friends and neighbors who have made Washington their home.”

Wellman added the measure ensures that state tax dollars pay for Washington services, saying “the federal government’s immigration responsibilities should not fall on the shoulders of our local law enforcement and state agencies.”

Asher called that a mischaracterization. “We are simply asking for a timely notification of an impending scheduled release of a person from jail or prison.”

ICE said by denying detainers, it forces the agency to track down criminals — sometimes entering immigrant communities — rather than taking them into custody at jail. Asher said that puts even more undocumented immigrants at risk.

“Instead of a safe transfer of an individual from a jail to ICE, we are forced to look for them in the community with the unavoidable consequence that when we are in the community to arrest these criminals, we lawfully encounter other individuals unlawfully in the United States, people who would not have been encountered by ICE absent sanctuary policies.”

In a statement, the office of Washington Governor Jay Inslee defended the state’s laws.

“The governor is committed to public safety across the state,” said Tara Lee, the governor’s spokesperson. “Unfortunately, the Trump Administration’s approach to immigration policy is not. Taking hard-working immigrants, who are contributing to our communities and our economy, away from their families is not about keeping the public safe — it is about instilling fear and stoking hate.”

ICE said the briefings on Thursday are part of the agency’s efforts to be more transparent and vocal about its mission to enforce federal laws. Earlier this month, ICE led a media tour through the Northwest Processing Center in Tacoma, saying it wanted to dispel falsehoods reported by the media and certain immigrant rights activists.

“We are overdue, frankly, in finding our voice finally in stating facts,” said Asher on Thursday. “We see all this bad information out there. I’m just so over it.”

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