A Pierce County Council resolution to be voted on Tuesday affirming the county’s position on limiting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities reveals a brewing feud between the Democratic-majority council and the county’s conservative sheriff.
The resolution would commit the county to fully complying with the Keep Washington Working Act, a bipartisan state law passed in 2019 that determined a person’s immigration status isn’t a matter for police action. The law was intended to give immigrants and refugees confidence that going to work or calling police for help in an emergency wouldn’t land them in the custody of federal immigration enforcement.
The council’s resolution also expresses support for a directive from County Executive Ryan Mello describing how county departments should interact with federal immigration officials…