Clark County Today sat down with Clark County Sheriff John Horch to discuss a number of subjects, and in today’s story, he notes that his department is prohibited by state law from law enforcement action based solely on an individual’s immigration or citizenship status

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

Recently, Clark County Sheriff John Horch sat down with Clark County Today to discuss a number of subjects concerning the Clark County Sheriff’s Office: Staffing issues, department morale, the office’s relationship with federal agencies, the implementation of body-worn cameras, de-escalation training in law enforcement, and more.

Clark County Today is posting several stories in his series. 

In the first post, the sheriff sounded the alarm on staffing shortages.

In this post, he discusses his office’s duties in relation to federal law enforcement agencies, including immigration. 

‘We don’t do federal enforcement’

Clark County Sheriff John Horch said nothing has changed in his administration in his two years in regard to how his department deals with federal law enforcement cases.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office is prohibited by state law to enforce federal immigration policies since the Washington State legislature passed the Keep Washington Working Act in 2019. 

In 2022, before Horch was sworn into office, the sheriff’s office worked on policy with the Washington Attorney General’s Office. The attorney general’s office confirmed that state law prohibits local enforcement of federal immigration law.

“We don’t do federal enforcement,” Horch said.

This is a hot topic with the Trump Administration making a very public statement on its deportation effort of illegal aliens, but Horch noted he and his deputies also do not work on other federal cases. 

“For example, we don’t do IRS stuff. No difference from the FBI. No difference from the DEA, No difference from Immigration,” Horch said.

There are exceptions. If any federal agency has an arrest warrant and asks for help in serving the warrant, deputies could be there, Horch said.

“If they have a federal warrant signed by a judge for a crime, we can, by law, help them,” Horch said. 

“We don’t go out on quote-unquote immigration raids,” the sheriff said. “We never have.”

However, help is a call away for agents.

“If they were in an emergency situation, we would help them,” Horch said of federal agents. “We’re not going to leave fellow law enforcement.”

During the course of everyday interaction with the public, though, Clark County deputies will not be asking for documentation. 

“We do not ask, we never have, someone’s immigration status,” Horch said. “If they are a victim (of a crime) we just help them. If they are the suspect, we will make the arrest.”

Horch acknowledged that it appears state law and federal law are coming to a head for states such as Oregon and Washington. He said he, too, is in a difficult spot, having taken an oath to support the Constitution and the laws of the United States and to the Constitution and laws of the state of Washington.

“Right now, the law in the state of Washington says you can’t ask immigration status,” Horch said. 

He gave the example of marijuana laws. In Washington, the use of marijuana is legal. It is not on the federal level.

“So if the feds came in and said, ‘Sheriff, will you start helping us do marijuana cases?’ No,” Horch said.

A Clark County Sheriff’s Office Written Directive from 2022 states: Clark County Sheriff’s Office personnel shall not initiate or participate in any law enforcement action based solely on an individual’s immigration or citizenship status.

The key word is solely. The sheriff’s office can help if an undocumented person is accused of another crime.

And in a recent media release from the sheriff’s office: We are often asked whether the Clark County Sheriff’s Office will enforce federal immigration policies. The short answer is no; we are prohibited by law from doing so.

And just last week, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs reiterated its statement from late last year:

“… the focus of local law enforcement is on criminal violations that affect local community safety and quality of life. We have every confidence that our state’s Sheriffs and Chiefs will neither violate state laws nor interfere with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or federal laws and duties.

“Deportation, immigration, and federal law enforcement duties are under the jurisdiction of the federal courts and federal law enforcement agencies.”