Washington State has sued Adams County, saying the Adams County Sheriff’s Office is illegally collaborating with federal immigration officials.
The lawsuit filed in the Spokane County Superior Court states that since 2022, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office has illegally held people in custody based solely on immigration status, helped federal agents question people in custody and routinely given immigration officials confidential personal information of hundreds of Washingtonians — all of which violate the Keep Washington Working Act.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown told SPR News that Adams County was required to adopt a policy instructing their officers about their roles in immigration enforcement, which means they could either adopt the policy drafted by the attorney general’s office or their own that is consistent with the Keep Washington Act, which he said they did not do.
“More importantly, they have consistently assisted federal immigration enforcement officials from ICE with immigration enforcement. They have helped transport people to immigration officials, which violates state law,” Brown said.
He added that the sheriff’s office hired a counsel associated with the America First Foundation, which is led by Stephen Miller, a member of the Trump Administration.
In response, Sheriff Dale Wagner released a statement on Facebook saying the lawsuit is a “disappointing attempt to hinder our ability to uphold public safety.”
“The claim that we are engaging in ‘illegal federal immigration enforcement’ misrepresents the reality of law enforcement in Adams County,” the statement continued. “We do not enforce federal immigration law, but we also will not turn a blind eye to criminal activity—no matter who commits it.”
James Rogers, America First Legal senior counsel, also responded through a statement, saying the organization is proud to stand with Adams County and will fight to protect from “this bullying.”
“Federal law is clear: it is a crime to conceal, harbor, or shield illegal aliens, and it is a crime to prevent federal officials from discharging their duties," Rogers said. "It is also against federal law to prevent local officials from communicating with DHS about the immigration status of individuals."
“Our nation’s immigration laws reflect the democratic will of the people, and it is outrageous that the State of Washington has been working to subvert it while at the same time facilitating the invasion of our country. It is even more disgraceful that the State of Washington would target one of its own counties because the officials there have the courage to follow the law and have been cooperating with ICE to help keep our country safe,” he continued.
However, this isn't the Adam County Sheriff’s Office's first lawsuit this year.
In January, Serfin Rangel-Sembrano sued Adams County and the Adams County Sheriff’s office.
Represented by Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, he alleges the Adams County Sheriff’s Office violated the Keep Washington Working Act and disregarded his rights, according to documents.
The documents state the sheriff’s office prevented Rangel-Sembrano from accessing public accommodations, “like the sidewalk and street outside the jail, based on his perceived immigration status.”
Court filings also say the counsel on behalf of Rangel-Sembrano asked for records on their training on immigration. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Dale Wagner have “never provided training to the office’s personnel regarding the immigration holds and the implication immigration holds,” according to documents.
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project didn’t immediately respond for comment.
Jake Mendez, member of ACLU Washington and NAACP and resident of Othello, said he believes the strict ICE orders got to Sheriff Dale Wagner’s head and now the community is having to come to grips with the reality and having to become vigilant.
“He's never done that before, not even when Trump was first in office and all of a sudden now he's doing this,” Mendez said.
Mendez makes multiple videos a week and uploads them to Facebook, aiming to hold agencies like the Othello Police Department and the Adams County Sheriff’s Department accountable. Although he is aware there are people in the community who aren’t fond of his work, he said does it to ensure community residents are aware of what’s going on.
In one of the videos he made in January, he addressed the lawsuit filed by Serfin Rangel-Sembrano who sued Adams County and the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.
“I think it’s pretty messed up that you think that you could rely on the Adams County Sheriff’s Office here and this county, Dale Wagner and his deputies, to uphold the Constitution of the United States and not violate anybody’s constitutional rights,” Mendez said in the video.
Erin Hall, attorney at Global Justice Law Group PLLC, similarly said that Trump’s executive order on enforcing increased detainments could have “empowered” law enforcement who may have wanted to do this all along because of their own political or personal beliefs.
Hall is representing Micaela Eudave, a business owner in Othello, who recently was arrested on her way to her food truck.
Eudave’s arrest has left her son going to school while also managing the food truck.
When asked if she thinks Eudave’s arrest was also a violation of the Washington Working Act, she said because the Adams County Sheriff's Officer wasn’t involved and was only ICE, she doesn’t think that’s the case for Eudave.
"They didn't involve Washington state law enforcement for her arrest,” Hall said. “It doesn't appear that the sheriff or the police pulled her over and then called immigration. It was ICE that pulled her over."
Still, she said she is proud of the attorney general for enacting the lawsuit and protecting families, regardless of their immigration status, across the state.
She said she hopes this will help community members feel safe, especially when it comes to reporting crimes to law enforcement.
“If you have law enforcement working with the federal immigration authorities, people are not going to be as forthcoming reporting crimes that Washington state needs to be prosecuting, so I'm proud of our attorney general for bringing the lawsuit,” Hall said.
SPR Reporter Owen Henderson contributed to this story.