Sheriff John Urquhart blasts ‘illegal aliens’ fliers

King County Sheriff John Urquhart is condemning fliers spread by an activist group attempting to overturn Burien’s sanctuary city status.

The statewide organization Respect Washington is disseminating fliers in Burien, featuring the names, addresses, and alleged crimes of undocumented immigrants in the city.

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Crosscut released a copy of the flier with names and addresses redacted.

Sheriff Urquhart takes issue with the flier for several reasons. First of all, he warns some of the information is likely inaccurate, especially the home addresses.

“The list goes back to 2008,” Urquhart told 770 KTTH’s Jason Rantz. “2008 through 2017 is what the list says. So who knows how old these addresses are.”

Respect Washington included a crime next to each name and address, Urquhart said this unfairly implies guilt in some cases.

“I haven’t gone through every single list, but I know on some of them that I have looked at they are suspected criminals,” Urquhart said. “At least in one case, a man who was listed as a murderer was cleared and was not a part of that crime.”

On the Respect Washington website, the organization attempt to raise awareness about crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. Urquhart said he understands some of the concerns, but he’s more worried about these type of fliers inspiring violence.

“I don’t think it’s illegal, I just think it’s a bad precedent to set,” Urquhart said. “I think it’s inflammatory, I think it puts innocent people at risk of vigilante action, and it just unnecessarily stokes fears in the community.”

Respect Washington has yet to respond to a request for an interview.

You can hear the full interview with Sheriff Urquhart here.

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