King County Sheriff John Urquhart joined a chorus of other city and law enforcement officials last week when he said the department would not change its policies following the first of President Donald Trump’s executive orders related to immigration. That order was about the federal government withholding federal funds from local governments that do not enforce U.S. immigration laws.

“The sheriff’s office has had a policy in place for nearly 30 years: Deputies are not allowed to ask about someone’s immigration status,” Urquhart said in an email on Thursday. “We don’t want folks not to cooperate with the police because they think they might get deported (or a family member) if they do. Real simple. It’s about reducing crime and the fear of crime. President’s Trump’s orders yesterday will have no effect on our policy. Nor does our policy make Vashon a ‘sanctuary island.’”

Additionally, a recent news story on KUOW about this issue noted that the King County Sheriff’s Office receives few federal dollars, so this order is not particularly threatening to the department.

The same KUOW story also noted that King County Executive Dow Constantine addressed this matter, saying it’s not yet clear how the Trump administration would connect immigration enforcement plans to federal funds. But he stressed county service providers will not inquire about people’s legal status.

“The administration can still attempt to use federal funding as leverage to force us to come to heel, to force us to treat people differently than we otherwise would, and we’re not going to participate in that,” he said.

— Susan Riemer