SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Herman: Inslee reverses course, now against sanctuary counties

Apr 22, 2020, 12:48 PM

inslee...

Gov. Jay Inslee. (Office of the Governor).

(Office of the Governor)

After a police officer was murdered by an illegal immigrant, Jay Inslee signed into law a bill that made Washington state a sanctuary state.

Inslee has consistently supported sanctuary counties and cities, but not anymore — at least according to how his chief of staff responded to the creation of a sanctuary county in south-east Washington.

Jay Inslee’s deadly promotion of domestic rebellion: 100% more lethal than Trump’s ‘liberate’ tweets

On Tuesday, Franklin County Commissioner Clint Didier announced the county commission, in a 3-0 vote, had become a sanctuary for private construction businesses and other small businesses shut down by Inslee under threat of prosecution. It’s a threat they faced merely for existing. Under the new sanctuary status, Franklin County will not aid in the targeting and prosecution of private construction companies that choose to do business in the county.

I applaud Franklin County for standing up to bullies. Inslee practices classism. He’s a classist, but no human being is non-essential, certainly not parents feeding their families. In Inslee’s twisted worldview, only construction workers with government documentation — let’s call them “documented builders” — are essential. The more diverse, private construction companies may lack that form of documentation — let’s call them “undocumented builders” — but, that makes them no-less essential and no-less human. They deserve to work, and, Didier has stood up to Inslee’s classist bullying of these undocumented builders by offering them sanctuary.

David Postman, Inslee’s chief of staff, in a shocking statement, called treating people fairly “a ‘wrong headed’ approach” and claims that Franklin County’s sanctuary county status could create legal liabilities. Classism like this has no place in polite society; Inslee should immediately disown Postman’s gaffe and demand his resignation.

I addressed this on my radio show Wednesday morning.

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Herman: Inslee reverses course, now against sanctuary counties