No role in deportation, Kittitas County Sheriff says

Kittitas County Sheriff Clay Myers said in his 40 years of service, he has never conducted immigration enforcement in Kittitas County.

“Deportation, immigration and federal law enforcement issues fall under the jurisdiction of the federal courts and are not a part of my elected office or sworn duty,” Myers stated last week in a Facebook post.

In recent weeks, Myers said he and other Washington state sheriffs have been asked about their plans regarding “anticipated changes in federal immigration enforcement” post-Inauguration Day.

“Some concerned citizens want sheriffs to cooperate in projected efforts to enforce immigration laws; others want us to take a stand against such efforts,” he wrote on Facebook.

Myers said that the sheriff’s office will not take enforcement action based on immigration or alien status, but “on the other hand, a person’s unlawful immigration status should not and will not be allowed to impede the investigation of crimes in which they may be involved.”

“I say this though regrettably aware that some Washington state laws intended to shield immigration violators from federal enforcement have exactly this effect,” Myers added.

Though the sheriff’s office will not take direct action based on immigration status, Myers said that it has always collaborated with federal law enforcement agencies and they will “continue to support these efforts when requested.”