Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson swiped back Tuesday in response to threats from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to withhold federal funding and potentially prosecute officials if they fail to cooperate with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement.
“You are hereby notified that Washington State will not be bullied or intimidated by threats and legally baseless accusations,” Ferguson, a Democrat, wrote in a sharply-worded letter.
In a letter to Ferguson last week, Bondi wrote that federal, state and local law enforcement have long cooperated, including on immigration enforcement.
“For too long, so-called sanctuary jurisdiction policies have undermined this necessary cooperation and obstructed federal immigration enforcement, giving aliens cover to perpetrate crimes in our communities and evade the immigration consequences that federal law requires,” she wrote.
Her letter threatens to hold back “grants, contract, and federal funds” from jurisdictions that she believes violate federal immigration law.
She also said officials in these places could be prosecuted criminally.
Washington is among about three dozen states, counties and cities nationwide that received such a warning from Bondi, who President Donald Trump appointed. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell also received one. Bondi gave recipients until Tuesday to respond.
Ferguson, the former three-term attorney general, retorted that the threat of prosecution “embarrasses and disgraces” Bondi’s office, adding that he didn’t have this “on my bingo card” as governor.
He delivered his response in a press conference Tuesday at the state Capitol alongside more than four dozen state leaders and advocates.
The developments of the past week bring immigration tensions between the two Washingtons to a head after months of circling each other on this issue, as Trump has sought to use any means necessary to increase deportations. A spokesperson for the governor confirmed the two letters are the extent of the communication between Ferguson and Bondi on this issue.
The state law at the center of the dispute has also faced scrutiny from congressional Republicans after Attorney General Nick Brown used it to sue an eastern Washington county over allegations its sheriff’s office cooperated with federal immigration agents.
In an interview Monday, Brown said he takes these ultimatums seriously, even if he doesn’t think they have much merit.
“I think we have to also just pause and recognize for a moment that we have the attorney general of the United States and the president threatening independently elected officials,” Brown said. “That’s really scary, and we shouldn’t get numb.”
The law and the backlash
Washington’s Democratic lawmakers passed the Keep Washington Working Act in 2019, limiting information sharing and collaboration between local police and federal immigration enforcement.
For example, police can’t provide nonpublic personal information to federal authorities investigating civil immigration cases, and can’t interview or detain people solely based on questions about their immigration status.
Police also aren’t allowed to ask about their immigration status except in rare cases. Democrats say the goal is to focus limited policing resources on local public safety.
One exception is that the state Department of Corrections is allowed to ask about immigration status and tell U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when people will be released from prison. In February, Ferguson said he wouldn’t close that gap, despite calls from immigration advocates.
On Tuesday, he said Washington is a welcoming community for immigrants and refugees while also complying with federal law.
Even with Washington’s barriers, the Trump administration has still sharply increased civil immigration arrests here, according to data culled by researchers. Arrests in June, around 290, were at least double any month since Trump reclaimed the presidency in January. Arrests dropped about 25% in July, the preliminary data shows, but still outpaced the usual rate.
Trump has long threatened to withhold federal funding from cities and states with laws like Washington’s that won’t aid in his vision for mass deportations. He issued similar warnings during his first term in the White House.
Bondi’s Department of Justice has sued Illinois, New York City and others over their policies. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit against Illinois, Chicago and Cook County last month, finding that the Trump administration couldn’t show their sanctuary policies violated federal law.
In another case, a federal judge in California in April ordered the administration to stop denying federal funds over immigration enforcement policies, in a lawsuit brought by Seattle, King County and jurisdictions across the country. That preliminary ruling is now under appeal.
King County is not one of the governments targeted by the Department of Justice’s latest effort.
Brown has also already joined in multiple lawsuits against the federal government over attempts to condition federal funding on assisting in immigration efforts.
He expects to litigate the Keep Washington Working Act with the Trump administration at some point. Ferguson said he doesn’t know what to expect from the federal government, but told Bondi, if they end up in court, to “be advised that we will defeat you and seek all appropriate costs and fees.”
The first-term governor recalled a walk home from elementary school with his daughter in 2017 as he battled the first Trump administration in court as attorney general. She had heard he could get in trouble for taking on the president.
“Katie, look, we’re lucky to live in a country, right, where your dad, or any American, can speak out against the president,” he recalled telling her, “where your dad can file a lawsuit against the president, say things that are pretty direct about that president, be critical, stop him from doing something illegal, and I don’t get in trouble.”
Eight years later, Ferguson said he’s “not so sure about that.”
Ferguson response to Bondi letter A copy of the letter that Gov. Bob Ferguson sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi letter to Ferguson A copy of the letter that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent to Gov. Bob Ferguson.
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