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Ferguson, lawmakers and advocates reject AG Bondi’s letter, vow to defend Keep Washington Working Act
Summary
Gov. Bob Ferguson and state leaders called a letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi—identifying Washington as a "sanctuary jurisdiction"—legally baseless and said the state will defend the bipartisan Keep Washington Working Act while working to protect federal funding.
SEATTLE — Gov. Bob Ferguson and a coalition of state lawmakers and immigrant-rights advocates on Monday rejected a letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that labels Washington a "so called sanctuary jurisdiction," saying the missive cites no specific policies or legal authority and amounts to posturing.
"Washington state will not be bullied or intimidated by threats and legally baseless accusations," Ferguson said, reading from and responding to the letter. He said the letter invokes federal obstruction, conspiracy and harboring statutes but “makes no effort whatsoever to explain” which state actions, if any, it alleges violate federal law.
The governor said he believes the letter targets the Keep Washington Working Act, a bipartisan state law he called carefully crafted to limit the diversion of state and local resources to federal immigration enforcement. "We're not gonna change that law and weaken it in response to…
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