Immigration enforcement

AN ACT Relating to federal immigration enforcement; adding a new 1
chapter to Title 43 RCW; repealing RCW 2.28.300, 2.28.310, 2.28.320, 2
2.28.330, 2.28.340, 3.02.070, 35.20.290, 43.17.420, 43.330.510, 3
43.10.310, 43.17.425, 10.93.160, and 43.10.315; and repealing 2020 c 4
37 s 1 (uncodified). 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. The 7
legislature recognizes the state's policy interest in protecting 8
immigrant communities and cooperating and assisting the federal 9
government in the enforcement of federal immigration laws within this 10
state. The legislature further finds that immigrant communities are 11
often the most victimized by illegal immigration and that criminal 12
organizations involved in illegal immigration disproportionally 13
target immigrant communities with criminal activity and flagrant 14
abuses of human rights. The legislature intends to respect and 15
protect the health, safety, and dignity of all immigrant communities 16
by establishing a statewide policy that encourages a collaborative 17
partnership with United States immigration and customs enforcement to 18
address and prevent criminal illegal immigration activities and the 19
criminal organizations that facilitate illegal immigration and 20
related crimes.21
S-0102.2
SENATE BILL 5002
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Fortunato and McCune
Prefiled 12/02/24. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Law & Justice.
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this 1
section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly 2
requires otherwise.3
(1) "Federal immigration agency" means the United States 4
department of justice and the United States department of homeland 5
security, a division within such an agency, including United States 6
immigration and customs enforcement and United States customs and 7
border protection, any successor agency, and any other federal agency 8
charged with the enforcement of immigration law. 9
(2) "Immigration detainer" means a facially sufficient written or 10
electronic request issued by a federal immigration agency using that 11
agency's official form to request that another law enforcement agency 12
detain a person based on probable cause to believe that the person to 13
be detained is a removable alien under federal immigration law, 14
including detainers issued pursuant to 8 U.S.C. Secs. 1226 and 1357 15
along with a warrant described in (b)(ii) of this subsection. For 16
purposes of this subsection, an immigration detainer is deemed 17
facially sufficient if: 18
(a) The federal immigration agency's official form is complete 19
and indicates on its face that the federal immigration official has 20
probable cause to believe that the person to be detained is a 21
removable alien under federal immigration law; or 22
(b)(i) The federal immigration agency's official form is 23
incomplete and fails to indicate on its face that the federal 24
immigration official has probable cause to believe that the person to 25
be detained is a removable alien under federal immigration law, but 26
is supported by an affidavit, order, or other official documentation 27
that indicates that the federal immigration agency has probable cause 28
to believe that the person to be detained is a removable alien under 29
federal immigration law; and 30
(ii) The federal immigration agency supplies with its detention 31
request a form I-200 warrant for arrest of alien or a form I-205 32
warrant of removal/deportation or a successor warrant or other 33
warrant authorized by federal law. 34
(3) "Inmate" means a person in the custody of a law enforcement 35
agency. 36
(4) "Law enforcement agency" means an agency in this state 37
charged with enforcement of state, county, municipal, or federal laws 38
or with managing custody of detained persons in this state and 39
includes municipal police departments, sheriff's offices, state 40
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police departments, state university and college police departments, 1
county correctional agencies, and the department of corrections.2
(5) "Local governmental entity" means any county, municipality, 3
or other political subdivision of this state. 4
(6) "Sanctuary policy" means a law, policy, practice, procedure, 5
or custom adopted or allowed by a state entity or local governmental 6
entity which prohibits or impedes a law enforcement agency from 7
complying with 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1373 or which prohibits or impedes a law 8
enforcement agency from communicating or cooperating with a federal 9
immigration agency so as to limit such law enforcement agency in, or 10
prohibit the agency from: 11
(a) Complying with an immigration detainer; 12
(b) Complying with a request from a federal immigration agency to 13
notify the agency before the release of an inmate or detainee in the 14
custody of the law enforcement agency; 15
(c) Providing a federal immigration agency access to an inmate 16
for interview; 17
(d) Participating in any program or agreement authorized under 18
section 287 of the immigration and nationality act, 8 U.S.C. Sec. 19
1357; or 20
(e) Providing a federal immigration agency with an inmate's 21
incarceration status or release date. 22
(7) "State entity" means the state or any office, board, bureau, 23
commission, department, branch, division, or institution thereof, 24
including public institutions of higher education.25
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. SANCTUARY POLICIES PROHIBITED. A state 26
entity, law enforcement agency, or local governmental entity may not 27
adopt or have in effect a sanctuary policy.28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. COOPERATION WITH FEDERAL IMMIGRATION 29
AUTHORITIES. (1) A law enforcement agency shall use best efforts to 30
support the enforcement of federal immigration law. This subsection 31
applies to an official, representative, agent, or employee of the 32
entity or agency only when he or she is acting within the scope of 33
his or her official duties or within the scope of his or her 34
employment.35
(2) Except as otherwise expressly prohibited by federal law, a 36
state entity, local governmental entity, or law enforcement agency, 37
or an employee, agent, or representative of the entity or agency, may 38
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not prohibit or in any way restrict a law enforcement agency from 1
taking any of the following actions with respect to information 2
regarding a person's immigration status: 3
(a) Sending the information to or requesting, receiving, or 4
reviewing the information from a federal immigration agency for 5
purposes of this chapter; 6
(b) Recording and maintaining the information for purposes of 7
this chapter; 8
(c) Exchanging the information with a federal immigration agency 9
or another state entity, local governmental entity, or law 10
enforcement agency for purposes of this chapter; 11
(d) Using the information to comply with an immigration detainer; 12
or 13
(e) Using the information to confirm the identity of a person who 14
is detained by a law enforcement agency. 15
(3)(a) For purposes of this subsection, the term "applicable 16
criminal case" means a criminal case in which: 17
(i) The judgment requires the defendant to be confined in a 18
secure correctional facility; and 19
(ii) The judge: 20
(A) Indicates in the record under section 5 of this act that the 21
defendant is subject to an immigration detainer; or22
(B) Otherwise indicates in the record that the defendant is 23
subject to a transfer into federal custody. 24
(b) In an applicable criminal case, when the judge sentences a 25
defendant who is the subject of an immigration detainer to 26
confinement, the judge shall issue an order requiring the secure 27
correctional facility in which the defendant is to be confined to 28
reduce the defendant's sentence by a period of not more than twelve 29
days on the facility's determination that the reduction in sentence 30
will facilitate the seamless transfer of the defendant into federal 31
custody. For purposes of this subsection, the term "secure 32
correctional facility" means a correctional institution operated by 33
the state, a county, or a municipality. 34
(c) If the information specified in (a)(ii)(A) and (B) of this 35
subsection is not available at the time the sentence is pronounced in 36
the case, but is received by a law enforcement agency afterwards, the 37
law enforcement agency shall notify the judge who shall issue the 38
order described by (b) of this subsection as soon as the information 39
becomes available. 40
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(4) When a county correctional facility or the department of 1
corrections receives verification from a federal immigration agency 2
that a person subject to an immigration detainer is in the law 3
enforcement agency's custody, the agency may securely transport the 4
person to a federal facility in this state or to another point of 5
transfer to federal custody outside the jurisdiction of the law 6
enforcement agency. The law enforcement agency may transfer a person 7
who is subject to an immigration detainer and is confined in a secure 8
correctional facility to the custody of a federal immigration agency 9
not earlier than twelve days before his or her release date. A law 10
enforcement agency shall obtain judicial authorization before 11
securely transporting an alien to a point of transfer outside of this 12
state. 13
(5) This section does not require a state entity, local 14
governmental entity, or law enforcement agency to provide a federal 15
immigration agency with information related to a victim of or a 16
witness to a criminal offense if the victim or witness timely and in 17
good faith responds to the entity's or agency's request for 18
information and cooperation in the investigation or prosecution of 19
the offense. 20
(6) A state entity, local governmental entity, or law enforcement 21
agency that, pursuant to subsection (5) of this section, withholds 22
information regarding the immigration information of a victim of or 23
witness to a criminal offense shall document the victim's or 24
witness's cooperation in the entity's or agency's investigative 25
records related to the offense and shall retain the records for at 26
least ten years for the purpose of audit, verification, or inspection 27
by the state auditor. 28
(7) This section does not authorize a law enforcement agency to 29
detain an alien unlawfully present in the United States pursuant to 30
an immigration detainer solely because the alien witnessed or 31
reported a crime or was a victim of a criminal offense.32
(8) This section does not apply to any alien unlawfully present 33
in the United States if he or she is or has been a necessary witness 34
or victim of a crime of domestic violence, rape, sexual exploitation, 35
sexual assault, murder, manslaughter, assault, battery, human 36
trafficking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, involuntary servitude, 37
fraud in foreign labor contracting, blackmail, extortion, or witness 38
tampering. 39
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. DUTIES RELATED TO IMMIGRATION DETAINERS. 1
(1) A law enforcement agency that has custody of a person subject to 2
an immigration detainer issued by a federal immigration agency shall:3
(a) Provide to the judge authorized to grant or deny the person's 4
release on bail notice that the person is subject to an immigration 5
detainer; 6
(b) Record in the person's case file that the person is subject 7
to an immigration detainer; and 8
(c) Upon determining that the immigration detainer is in 9
accordance with section 2 (2) of this act, comply with the requests 10
made in the immigration detainer. 11
(2) A law enforcement agency is not required to perform a duty 12
imposed by subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this section with respect to a 13
person who is transferred to the custody of the agency by another law 14
enforcement agency if the transferring agency performed that duty 15
before the transfer. 16
(3) A judge who receives notice that a person is subject to an 17
immigration detainer shall cause the fact to be recorded in the court 18
record, regardless of whether the notice is received before or after 19
a judgment in the case. 20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS. Each county 21
correctional facility shall enter into an agreement or agreements 22
with a federal immigration agency for temporarily housing persons who 23
are the subject of immigration detainers and for the payment of the 24
costs of housing and detaining those persons. A compliant agreement 25
may include any contract between a correctional facility and a 26
federal immigration agency for housing or detaining persons subject 27
to immigration detainers, such as basic ordering agreements in effect 28
on or after the effective date of this section, agreements authorized 29
by section 287 of the immigration and nationality act, 8 U.S.C. Sec. 30
1357, or successor agreements and other similar agreements authorized 31
by federal law.32
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. ENFORCEMENT. (1) Any executive or 33
administrative state, county, or municipal officer who violates his 34
or her duties under this chapter may be subject to action by the 35
attorney general in the exercise of his or her authority under the 36
state Constitution and state law. Pursuant to existing law, the 37
attorney general may initiate judicial proceedings in the name of the 38
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state against such officers to enforce compliance with any duty under 1
this chapter or restrain any unauthorized act contrary to this 2
chapter. 3
(2) In addition, the attorney general may file suit against a 4
local governmental entity or local law enforcement agency in a court 5
of competent jurisdiction for declaratory or injunctive relief for a 6
violation of this chapter. 7
(3) If a local governmental entity or local law enforcement 8
agency violates this chapter, the court must enjoin the unlawful 9
sanctuary policy. The court has continuing jurisdiction over the 10
parties and subject matter and may enforce its orders with the 11
initiation of contempt proceedings as provided by law.12
(4) An order approving a consent decree or granting an injunction 13
must include written findings of fact that describe with specificity 14
the existence and nature of the sanctuary policy that violates this 15
chapter. 16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. EDUCATION RECORDS. This chapter does not 17
apply to the release of information contained in education records of 18
an educational agency or institution, except in conformity with the 19
family educational rights and privacy act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 20
1232g.21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. A state entity, 22
a local governmental entity, or a law enforcement agency, or a person 23
employed by or otherwise under the direction or control of the entity 24
or agency, may not base its actions under this chapter on the gender, 25
race, religion, national origin, or physical disability of a person 26
except to the extent authorized by the United States Constitution or 27
the state Constitution.28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. EXISTING POLICIES. A sanctuary policy, as 29
defined in section 2 of this act, that is in effect on the effective 30
date of this section violates the public policy of this state and 31
must be repealed within ninety days after that date.32
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. The following acts or parts of acts are 33
each repealed:34
(1) 2020 c 37 s 1 (uncodified); 35
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(2) RCW 2.28.300 (Definitions— Immigration enforcement and civil 1
arrests) and 2020 c 37 s 2; 2
(3) RCW 2.28.310 (Immigration and citizenship information— Federal 3
immigration authorities) and 2020 c 37 s 3; 4
(4) RCW 2.28.320 (Law enforcement actions in court facilities — 5
Completion of information form— Notice to court staff) and 2020 c 37 s 6
4; 7
(5) RCW 2.28.330 (Privilege from civil arrest — Court facilities) 8
and 2020 c 37 s 5; 9
(6) RCW 2.28.340 (Applicability of courts open to all act) and 10
2020 c 37 s 6; 11
(7) RCW 3.02.070 (Applicability of courts open to all act) and 12
2020 c 37 s 7; 13
(8) RCW 35.20.290 (Applicability of courts open to all act) and 14
2020 c 37 s 8; 15
(9) RCW 43.17.420 (Immigration and citizenship status — 16
Definitions) and 2019 c 440 s 2; 17
(10) RCW 43.330.510 (Keep Washington working statewide work 18
group) and 2019 c 440 s 3; 19
(11) RCW 43.10.310 (Immigration enforcement model policies — 20
Adoption by schools, health facilities, courthouses) and 2019 c 440 s 21
4; 22
(12) RCW 43.17.425 (Immigration and citizenship status — State 23
agency restrictions) and 2019 c 440 s 5; 24
(13) RCW 10.93.160 (Immigration and citizenship status — Law 25
enforcement agency restrictions) and 2019 c 440 s 6; and26
(14) RCW 43.10.315 (Immigration enforcement model policies — 27
Adoption by law enforcement agencies) and 2019 c 440 s 7.28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections 1 through 10 of this act 29
constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.30
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