King, Snohomish counties at odds with feds over immigration

King County is being shamed by the Department of Homeland Security for not complying with ICE detainer requests and county officials aren’t backing down.

A new list by DHS shows jurisdictions around the country that reject immigrant detainer requests. King and Snohomish counties both made the list.

“King County has a policy that we won’t honor ICE detainers,” King County Council Chairman Joe McDermott said. “That’s why they’re publishing the list — to try and shame jurisdictions like us for not holding someone beyond when we would normally release them. That’s not democratic and it actually harms public safety.”

McDermott says people won’t report crimes if they fear they will be federally detained if they do.

“If ICE wanted to have a functional system they would be working with us,” he said. “Because in the most serious offenses we would honor their detainers, but they won’t even cooperate with us on that information. To start publicly shaming jurisdictions, I think, is really out of bounds for the federal government.”

According to The Seattle Times, the problem comes down to counties refusing to accept detainer requests. Those requests, which are not legally binding, according to the Times, hold people in jail for potential for immigration-related violations.

The list from DHS shows Snohomish county had 12 detainer requests between Jan. 28 and Feb. 3. That’s tied for the fourth highest amount in the country.

ICE issued 3,083 detainers throughout the week of Jan. 28 through Feb. 3.

The lack of cooperation with the federal government is not surprising. Many jurisdictions within Washington state have declared themselves to be “sanctuaries.”

Though the recent detainer attempts will undoubtedly be linked to the Trump administration’s attempt to “enhance public safety,” the refusal of detainer requests actually dates further back. In 2013, the county passed an ordinance that made it the policy of the county to “only honor civil immigration hold requests (detainers) from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for individuals who have been convicted of a violent or serious crime defined in Washington statute.

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