Dozens of Democratic lawmakers in the Washington Legislature have pushed in recent months to reassess how the state Department of Corrections shares information with federal immigration authorities.
But Washington’s governor and attorney general, both first-term Democrats, see no need to change current policy.
The Keep Washington Working Act, passed in 2019, strictly limits local police from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. This month, the statute has spawned a war of words between Gov. Bob Ferguson and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi over whether it violates federal law.
The Department of Corrections remains an exception under the state law. And that doesn’t sit well with some Democrats.
“I don’t think that we have done everything in our ability to keep communities safe,” said state Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma. “Certainly, I don’t think we’ve done enough with Department of Corrections information sharing.”
The state agency can ask for and collect information about inmates’ immigration status and country of origin to share with embassies, spokesperson Christopher Wright said. Prison staff don’t confirm this information. And incarcerated Washingtonians aren’t required to provide it.
Continue reading this Washington State Standard story here.