‘Fight fire with fire’: Pierce County sheriff says he will contact ICE after council affirmed sanctuary policies
Apr 17, 2025, 3:00 PM | Updated: 3:30 pm
The Pierce County Council is set to reaffirm its status as a sanctuary county in a sanctuary state—and Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank said he will push back.
“Well, first off, they never even contacted me about it, and just one of my supporters sent me an email and said, ‘Sheriff, have you seen this?’ And of course, I hadn’t seen it. I have so many things going on. I didn’t have time to see that they’re trying to pass or they’re going to pass a resolution that doubles down on Keep Washington Working, which I believe is unconstitutional,” Swank shared on “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH Thursday.
The sheriff said because of the lack of communication, he is going to contact the White House.
“Since they didn’t get ahold of me, I’m going to reach out to ICE and Washington, D.C., the Trump Administration, Department of Justice, and I’m going to tell them what’s going on here and ask them for a hand,” he said.
Pierce County Sheriff looking into ICE’s 287 (g) Program
Swank said he is also considering entering into ICE’s 287 (g) Program that authorizes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to delegate specific immigration officer functions to state and local law enforcement, as stated on the program’s website.
When it was brought up that in doing so, Swank would be going against state law, he responded, “Yes, absolutely. Of course, I believe it’s unconstitutional law.”
Swank mentioned that the Adams County Sheriff’s Office is going through a similar situation.
Earlier this month, on “The John Curley Show”, Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner explained why authorities feel stuck between state and federal law and the impact of “fearmongering.”
“The reality is that the law enforcement across the country, no matter where you are, has a responsibility as best that we can to keep people that are harmful to our community in custody, if that’s the case, or at least try and protect them as best we can,” Wagner said.
Swank said he is going to seek legal help and will decide the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office’s next move in the following days.
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