3 days ago
Washington state named ‘sanctuary jurisdiction' by Trump admin, 35 of 39 counties listed
The Brief
The Trump administration labeled Washington a "State Sanctuary Jurisdiction," citing non-compliance with federal immigration enforcement.
35 of Washington's 39 counties and five cities were named as sanctuary jurisdictions by the Department of Homeland Security.
The list includes errors and unexpected entries, with some counties questioning their inclusion.
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration has named Washington a "State Sanctuary Jurisdiction," accusing nearly every county in the state of not complying with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
The Department of Homeland Security released a list of 500 so-called "sanctuary jurisdictions" on Thursday, claiming the communities "undermine the rule of law and endanger the lives of Americans and law enforcement."
In Washington state, 35 of 39 counties were named, along with five cities.
Here's the full list for Washington:
Asotin County
Benton County
Chelan County
Clallam County
Clark County
Columbia County
Cowlitz County
Ferry County
Franklin County
Garfield County
Grant County
Grays Harbor County
Island County
Jefferson County
King County
Kitsap County
Kittitas County
Lewis County
Lincoln County
Mason County
Okanogan County
Pacific County
Pend Oreille County
Pierce County
San Juan County
Skagit County
Skamania County
Snohomish County
Spokane County
Stevens County
Thurston County
Wahkiakum County
Walla Walla County
Whatcom County
Whitman County
City of Everett
City of Olympia
City of Tacoma
Seattle
Yakima
The only Washington counties not to be named were Adams County, Douglas County, Klickitat County and Yakima County.
Dig deeper
The list, which was riddled with misspellings, also included sparsely populated counties that have little interaction with immigration authorities, that overwhelmingly voted for President Donald Trump and that have actively supported his hard-line immigration policies.
Among the most confusing aspects of the list was Shawano County, Wisconsin, which believes it may have been added by mistake. County administrator Jim Davel said the only policy vote in recent years was to become a "Second Amendment Sanctuary County" opposing gun control laws—unrelated to immigration.
Other unexpected names include Alexandria, Virginia, and Huntington Beach, California—both communities with histories of cooperation with ICE.
The full list can be found on the DHS website.
The Source
Information in this story came from the Associated Press, FOX Digital and the Department of Homeland Security website.
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