||| FROM SHERIFF ERIC PETER for SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE |||
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office (SJCSO) continues to prioritize public safety, fairness, and trust within the community while upholding state law, county code, and ensuring that every member of the community feels secure. In line with RCW 10.93.160, which governs the interaction between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, SJCSO reaffirms its commitment to protecting all residents, regardless of immigration status.
At the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, our mission is to “Protect the lives, rights, and property of all people
through crime prevention and enforcement of the law with equity and dignity for all”. We remain dedicated to
enforcing the law fairly and impartially, preserving peace, and safeguarding constitutional guarantees for
everyone in San Juan County.
Key Commitments:
Compliance with RCW 10.93.160: Immigration and citizenship status—Law enforcement agency restrictions
- No Immigration Enforcement: Local law enforcement, including SJCSO, does not enforce civil federal
immigration laws. SJCSO does not inquire into an individual’s immigration status unless there is a
connection between such information and an investigation into a violation of state or local criminal law. - Schools as Safe Spaces: Deputies acting in their official capacity will not inquire into or collect
information about an individual’s immigration status nor provide such information to federal
immigration authorities for civil enforcement. - Detention Guidelines: Individuals cannot be detained solely for the purpose of determining their
immigration status, nor can they be held for a civil immigration warrant or hold request.
Working with the Community:
- SJCSO role is to protect all members of the community, regardless of their immigration status. SJCSO
is committed to fostering an environment where everyone feels safe reporting crimes or concerns
without fear of deportation or immigration-related actions. - SJCSO is not involved in immigration enforcement. We are here to serve and protect all residents,
regardless of their immigration status.
No Agreements with ICE:
- As per RCW 10.93.160, SJCSO and other local law enforcement agencies cannot enter into agreements that would grant federal civil immigration enforcement powers to state or local officers, including agreements under the 287(g) program.
SJCSO will continue to ensure that all community members feel valued, safe, and protected as we work together toward a more inclusive and secure San Juan County.
About San Juan County Sheriff’s Office
San Juan County Sheriff’s Office is committed to protecting the lives, property, and rights of all residents and
visitors, as well as to maintain order and reduce crime through education, prevention, and enforcement of the
law. The Sheriff’s Office is located at 96 Second Street, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. For more information about San Juan County’s Sheriff Office, visit https://www.sanjuanco.com/344/Sheriff.
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I do believe we fall under Constitutional law which requires lawful admission into the US. Entering otherwise is a felony are required by law to be arrested. I live in the state and do not recognize the Sanctuary State. Do your job and obey the US Constitution.
Don’t like it… move somewhere else Daniel.
Morality- doing what is right regardless of what you are told. Obedience- doing what you are told regardless of what is right.
Thanks to SJCSO for the clear and concise statement about this issue, which has been on the minds of many locals due to “recent events.”
Looks like Daniel Farage didn’t read the article. County police ARE doing their jobs. Immigration enforcement is a job for federal employees.
“But if you gotta warrant, I guess you’re gonna come in……”
Grateful Dead- Truckin’
We love our popo. Orcas Dorkas
Unfortunately this statement is not as clear and concise as is needed. Because of the Mass Influx Declaration from 1996 (but used for the first time just this week), local law enforcement can be deputized to do the bidding of ICE, and there is nothing they can do about it.
We would all do well to not be lulled into a false sense of security and understand everyone in our community needs to be looked out for. Regardless of law enforcement, there are people who live here, as shown in previous comments, that will use the excuse of the law to do immoral things to other people. Racism and bigotry are alive and well in SJC and they are happy to call on authoritarian means to justify their deplorable need to control others.
State officers cannot be deputized against their will. Deputization is not like naming a baby.
Federal officers enforce federal laws, and cannot be made to enforce county laws. Nor can county officers be made to enforce federal law. However, they cooperate on a voluntary basis and there are many instances where cooperation is appropriate, particularly where state and federal jurisdiction overlap.
Sheriff Peter has briefed us on the appropriate and operating laws, and yes–Federal officers (or the President) cannot deputize local law enforcement. Thanks to Bill and others for pointing this out. However, those of us who were here a couple decades ago will recall the stop-and-search activities at the Anacortes ferry terminal, so that’s the sort of thing I might expect the Trump admin to pull in a next act.
An unusually good clarification in this string.
A key question is what the marching orders are for the local contingent of federal law enforcement within the Customs and Border Protection who clearly enforce illegal immigration and suspected threats of terrorism and drug running. You may also remember the 100 mile policy extending well into the US and resulted in road check points on US Highway 101 on the Olympic Peninsula. This can only get more complicated and impactful out here .
Another key question is, how much of what the new administration is trying to do is moral, ethical, and “legal”. Where does one draw the line? Define “legal.”
A quote from Common Dreams, “On January 20th, it begins… Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy.”
The many orchestrated calamities of the day, both domestic and foreign, are the culmination of what many have been predicting for decades. For those who’ve been paying attention we find that throughout time there has always been a demagogue- whether this be blacks, gays, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Un, Ho Chi Minh, Putin, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, the Muslims, the illegals amongst us, those seeking refuge from “corporate / political caused” climate catastrophes, or “corporate / political caused” conflict zones, or “corporate / political persecution from despots who have overthrown democratically elected governments, (often with U.S. support)… all of whom are deemed terrorists of one form or another, all having serving as scapegoats, a diversion to a larger reality. And if there wasn’t / isn’t one, we’ll invent one.
Though evil exists on many levels we continue to ignore the root causes, and we’re now ignoring the fact that the war on terror has morphed into a war against poverty. We should heed the words of Chris Hedges, as he once so succinctly framed it, “The mechanisms of incremental and piecemeal reforms don’t work. Fear the puppet masters, not the puppets. We do have enemies abroad, but our most dangerous enemy is within. Most of us are in the same boat yet we’re still divided and fighting over the non-issues of the day. The only war worth fighting is class war.”
“I am sure government attorneys are skillfully doing what has become de rigueur for the corporate state, using specious legal arguments to eviscerate enshrined rights by judicial fiat. This is how we have the right to privacy with no privacy. This is how we have “free” elections funded by corporate money, covered by a compliant corporate media and under iron corporate control. This is how we have a legislative process in which corporate lobbyists write the legislation and corporate-indentured politicians vote it into law. This is how we have the right to due process with no due process.”
“The militarists, corporatists, oligarchs, politicians, academics and media conglomerates champion identity politics and diversity because it does nothing to address the systemic injustices or the scourge of permanent war that plague the U.S. It is an advertising gimmick, a brand, used to mask mounting social inequality and imperial folly. It busies liberals and the educated with a boutique activism, which is not only ineffectual but exacerbates the divide between the privileged and a working class in deep economic distress. The haves scold the have-nots for their bad manners, racism, linguistic insensitivity and garishness, while ignoring the root causes of their economic distress. The oligarchs could not be happier.”
“Life is a two way street” so here’s a common sense thought;
In addition to ICE and CBP the U.S. Coast Guard fall under the Department of Homeland Security. Since CBP and USCG routinely patrol and assist LEO’s in our county it may be prudent to cooperate with all DHS assets.
We are approaching a dangerous time, when citizens decide on their own what laws they will or won’t obey. This issue must be taken seriously no matter which side you are on. A hundred years ago, the Underground Railroad existed to protect, and free, a class of human beings viewed as property. It is still a game of tag. While providing legal advice to an illegal alien is not illegal; providing refuge to or “harboring” an illegal alien is a federal crime. One’s decision will be based on whether a rule-following society is more important than a society based on the individual’s conscience, along with the many ramifications of choosing one over the other.
Name-calling and disparagement are irrelevant however cathartic. It is a question, as the Underground Railway made clear, of conscience and consequences in a world in which only actions count.
I return again and again to the 14th Amendments Equal Protection Clause. As a matter of conscience 23 mostly elderly citizens were pardoned this week after being sentenced to year(s) in Federal Prison having been targeted by DOJ for “blocking access” to clinics under a “law” that arguably circumvents their First Amendment Rights (see freeways being blocked by “activists” for comparative sentencing)
One of the most significant divisions in our society revolves around a glaringly apparent double standard in the application of our laws. This cannot be allowed to stand, the Legal Community should be at the forefront in supporting an equitable application of our “rules” and move to disbar prosecutors and judges who don’t do so.
Life indeed is a two way street and if you cross the line there will, at some point be a collision.
Thank you SJCSO. Boiling down your statement:
It is not your job to do ICE’s job for them.
Only when immigrant information is relevant, do you gather it.
Otherwise, you can ‘t share information you don’t have.
Even if not comforting, that’s good enough for me.
“In addition to ICE and CBP the U.S. Coast Guard fall under the Department of Homeland Security. Since CBP and USCG routinely patrol and assist LEO’s in our county it may be prudent to cooperate with all DHS assets.”
Prudent to cooperate with a profit driven, racist system that oppresses others in order to richen itself? How convenient… the above echoing your feelings to begin with. “Copout” is the term that comes to mind. This mentality is no different than the people who cooperated with the Nazi regime because, “it was the law.”
There’s something deeply disturbing about those who are so willing to make things worse for others in their attempts to (seemingly) make things better for themselves. As our dysfunctional government becomes more and more entrenched in fascism this has the ultimate effect of making things worse for everybody. “First they came for….”
Civil disobedience is civil defense… those who resist tyranny will be on the right side of history.
Mao, Pol Pot, Stalin, Lenin – Over a hundred million dead – the right side of history?
Nice try, (actually, not nice, and a really poor attempt to twist the intent of what I was saying). Your shallow assertion does nothing more than misframe the narrative.
Yes, there’s good guys and there’s bad guys. History is replete with both those that we’ve “invented,” and those who really are bad actors, (they have existed on all sides of the coin… both here and abroad).
You state the obvious, and neither myself, nor anybody that I know, would disagree with you when you state that Mao, Pol Pot, Stalin, Lenin, (and there’s many more) were not on the right side of history.