A judge ruled on Friday Adams County has violated state law by collaborating with federal immigration enforcement.
The state’s Keep Washington Working Act , passed in 2019, prohibits local law enforcement from asking people about their immigration status or holding them for immigration agents.
“Today’s ruling allows our state to continue building trust and confidence between law enforcement and immigrant communities as the federal administration undermines those efforts with its draconian policies,” Attorney General Nick Brown wrote in a statement announcing the outcome of the lawsuit.
A majority of people locked up by immigration enforcement have no criminal record.Amid concerns of racial profiling by law enforcement, many U.S. citizens now carry passports in their daily lives. Many immigrant communities, throughout Washington State and across the spectrum of legal status, have strained relationships with local law enforcement.
“This is not about politics, race, or immigration status,” wrote Adams County Sheriff Dale Wager in a press statement acknowledging the legal blow, “It is about public safety, accountability, and the ability of law enforcement agencies to work together to protect the communities we serve.”
The start of the lawsuit
The AG’s office initially launched the lawsuit back in 2025, after a man in the country without legal status was booked by Adams County on criminal charges that were later dropped. Instead of releasing the man, local law enforcement officials placed him on a call with federal immigration enforcement, and later took the man to the agents. The man was then arrested and taken to the Northwest ICE Processing Center. He was later released, and is pursuing legal status.
Spokane County Superior Court Judge Marla L. Polin found that those actions, and others, were in violation of the state's Keep Washington Working Act. Other violations, according to the lawsuit, included sending daily custody lists to federal immigration authorities, failing to adopt the state's guidance and failing to address yearslong complaints sent to Adams County from the AG's office.
In 2022, the AG’s office sent a letter to Adams County Sheriff Wagner and Prosecuting Attorney Randy Flyckt, raising concerns about their cooperation with federal immigration agencies.
According to the letter, county officials aided Immigration and Customs Enforcement more than 200 times between May 2019, when the Keep Washington Working Act took effect, and December 2021.
Since then, the Attorney General’s Office began meeting with Adams County to address those concerns.
“Over the course of almost two years, they did those meetings, said they were changing policy, said they were acting consistent with state law, and then, in fact, were not,” Brown said back in 2025. “[They] never once claimed that what they were being asked to do somehow violated federal law.”
Sheriff’s legal defense has ties to national group
Sheriff Wagner and others were represented by special deputy Attorney Joel Ard. Ard is with the Ard Law Group and backed by America First Legal, a law firm founded by Stephen Miller, current chief of staff of President Donald Trump. Miller is an architect behind the president’s mass deportation efforts. During enforcement actions, U.Scitizens and immigrants have been killed. Thousands of unlawful detainment lawsuitshave been filed, overwhelming courts.
Wagner said he plans to appeal the judge’s ruling.
“I respect the judicial process, but respecting that process does not mean we must agree with every ruling,” Wagner wrote.
“Our States continued pursuit of these policies represents, in my view, a misguided political agenda that puts ideology ahead of common sense and public safety. I believe these restrictions make Adams County and Washington state less safe.”
The lawsuit requires Adams County to fall into compliance with the Keep Washington Working Act.