Snohomish Sheriff Says ICE 'Detainer Report' Is 'Untrue' And 'Offensive'

EDMONDS, WA - Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary has responded to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report released Monday listing the department as one of the top "non-cooperating" jurisdictions in the U.S. when it comes to detaining illegal immigrants.

The "declined detainer" report is a weekly document issued by ICE, and was put into effect by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that aims to punish sanctuary cities and counties. The report alleges that Snohomish County regularly declines to comply with ICE detainer requests; the report states that between Jan. 28 and Feb. 3, ICE issued 12 detainer requests to the county.

But Trenary called the allegation offensive - and untrue.

"That is simply untrue. This unsubstantiated claim is offensive to me and the communities that I and the men and women of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office proudly serve. If ICE truly felt that these offenders were a danger to society, they would establish probable cause and seek an arrest warrant, just like any other law enforcement agency. Since our policy to no longer honor detainer requests has been in place, ICE has produced zero warrants at our jail," he said in a statement.

Trenary said that Snohomish County's honoring of detainer requests has nothing to do with being a sanctuary county. A 2014 federal court case, Miranda-Olivares v. Clackamas County, determined that holding people in jail for a federal agency without probable cause violates the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

"Not honoring ICE detainer requests has nothing to do with whether Snohomish County is a 'sanctuary' jurisdiction and has everything to do with following the letter of the law," Trenary said.

The Trump executive order that requires ICE to put out the detainer report is largely aimed at declared sanctuary cities and counties. Places like Seattle and King County are declared sanctuaries. The executive order also aims to take federal grants from such jurisdictions, although the exact grants have not been quantified by the Trump administration.

"My agency’s mission is community first, and I believe in policies and processes that maximize public safety, while treating everyone fairly, with dignity and respect," Trenary said.

Image via Ty Tenary