WAGOP chairman says policies put in place by Gov. Bob Ferguson and state Attorney General Nick Brown undermine federal immigration law

Jim Walsh, chairman
Washington State Republican Party

“The ‘sanctuary’ state policies promoted by current Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson and state Attorney General Nick Brown undermine federal immigration law, put the state at significant risk of economic damage and enable Washington’s secret shame — a growing crisis of human sex trafficking,” wrote WAGOP Chairman Jim Walsh in a commentary for The Daily Chronicle, recently.

“US Attorney Pam Bondi is right,” says Chairman Walsh. “Lawlessness breeds lawlessness. Ferguson, Brown and Co. need to stop picking petulant fights with the feds and stop encouraging pimps and sex traffickers.”

And while Ferguson and Brown dismiss the ongoing threats to public safety caused by supporting illegal ‘sanctuary’ state policies, they also fail to acknowledge the permanent and tragic human costs. Somewhere in Snohomish County there is a little girl growing up without her father. Former WA State Trooper Christopher Gadd was killed when his vehicle was struck by illegal alien Raul Benitez Santana, who was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana at the time.

“Because of laws like the “Keep Washington Working Act” and related Inslee-Ferguson executive orders, pimps and traffickers believe they — like other illegal aliens in this state — are untouchable,” adds Chairman Walsh.

Still, hope is on the horizon.

“U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently sent Ferguson a letter, dated Aug. 13, that warned the current governor his ‘sanctuary state’ policies are illegal and need to be dismantled,” says Chairman Walsh. “The letter gave Ferguson and Brown, who was copied on it, six days to respond with a plan for getting rid of their ‘sanctuary’ policies.”

Specifically, Bondi wrote:

“For too long, so-called sanctuary jurisdiction policies have undermined … and obstructed federal immigration enforcement, giving aliens cover to perpetrate crimes in our communities and evade the immigration consequences that federal law requires. … You are hereby notified that your jurisdiction has been identified as one that engages in sanctuary policies and practices that thwart federal immigration enforcement to the detriment of the interests of the United States. This ends now.”

Click here to read the full commentary.

---

Also read:

• 
  These new laws and taxes take effect in Washington state on Jan. 1
  Several new laws and tax increases passed in 2025 take effect Jan. 1 in Washington, impacting unemployment benefits, business taxes, transportation fees, consumer costs and regulatory requirements.
• 
  Opinion: Justice for none – Court hands down a mandate without a dime to fund it
  Nancy Churchill argues that a Washington Supreme Court ruling on public defense imposes costly mandates on local governments without providing funding to implement them.
• 
  Deportations, tariffs, court clashes, record shutdown mark a historic year in Washington, D.C.
  A year marked by deportations, tariffs, court battles, and a record federal shutdown reshaped Washington, D.C., during President Donald Trump’s return to office.
• 
  Opinion: The progressive attack on Washington’s sheriffs
  Nancy Churchill argues that proposed legislation would shift power over county sheriffs away from voters and concentrate control within state government.
• 
  VIDEO: WA GOP budget lead blasts Ferguson’s fiscal plan as ‘a complete joke’
  Republican lawmakers sharply criticized Gov. Bob Ferguson’s proposed 2026 supplemental budget, arguing it fails to meet Washington’s four-year balanced budget requirement and masks deeper fiscal problems.