Ferguson and WA leaders right to resist Bondi bullying

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, August 26, 2025

The letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to Gov. Bob Ferguson was less a legal notice than a political bullying. Without citing a single specific violation, Bondi threatened state officials with criminal prosecution for not helping with immigration enforcement.

Ferguson’s response was unequivocal and correct: Washingtonians stand by their immigrant neighbors and will not participate in Trump policies that grow crueler by the day.

Bondi wrote, “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.”

She demanded that Washington repeal laws and policies that impede federal immigration enforcement.

Ferguson is having none of it. “You are hereby notified that Washington State will not be bullied or intimidated by threats and legally baseless accusations,” he wrote in response. “Washington State is proud to be a welcoming community that values immigrants’ and refugees’ contributions to our economy and our cultural fabric.”

Ferguson served as Washington’s attorney general before becoming governor and clearly understands the law better than Bondi. She cites plenty of statutes, but her approach is the legal equivalent of throwing wet spaghetti at the wall and desperately hoping that something sticks.

Long-standing legal precedent establishes that the federal government may not commandeer state resources, including law enforcement. Neither Washington nor any other state must assist the Trump administration in arresting and deporting immigrants. The Supreme Court has established that immigration is a federal, not state, domain.

If federal threats succeed in compelling state cooperation, the constitutional balance between state and federal authority would fundamentally shift. Ferguson and other state leaders must continue to resist Bondi’s bullying.

The state’s Keep Washington Working Act – its sanctuary law – forbids law enforcement from sharing nonpublic information about an individual’s immigration status is a noncriminal matter except as required by federal law. That ensures that state troopers, county sheriffs and local police focus their finite resources on keeping communities safe.

Many law enforcement departments are understaffed and can’t find enough qualified applicants. They do not have time to be federal immigration cops.

Washington does not “thwart” federal immigration enforcement, as Bondi claims. The state just doesn’t facilitate enforcement any more than required by law. Declining to assist is not the same as getting in the way.

This is about more than parsing legal technicalities. Washington’s immigrant population is critical to the state’s economic well-being. Immigrants comprise nearly three-quarters of the agricultural workforce. They pick the apples and cherries that generate billions of dollars in Washington and feed the nation. More than two-thirds of the apples eaten in the United States come from Washington, and more than half of the sweet cherries.

The fear of immigration raids is disrupting those harvests. Farmers struggle to find enough hands to pick fruit before it rots on the branch. When the attorney general threatens the state’s immigrants, she threatens the livelihood of every farmer and the stability of the nation’s food supply.

Economic troubles extend into cities. The construction industry relies on immigrant labor. When they cannot find enough roofers, drywall installers and other skilled workers, it slows building of desperately needed housing and drives up prices.

Agriculture and construction are far from the only industries at risk. Caregivers, cleaners, hospitality, landscaping and others rely on immigrant workers.

Congress could address these challenges, but lawmakers have proved unable to pass effective legislation for legal immigration to provide the workers America needs, let alone comprehensive immigration reform.

Opting out of immigration enforcement supports public safety, too. If immigrants fear calling 911 in an emergency because they might be reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, crimes can fester and injuries go untreated. Police also might lose witnesses to serious crimes if fear leads people to stay silent.