The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled in favor of a Trump-era challenge, reaffirming the U.S. government’s authority to deport illegal immigrants and striking down a Washington state order that sought to block federal immigration enforcement operations at a Seattle-area airport.
In April 2019, King County Executive Dow Constantine issued an executive order barring officials at King County International Airport from supporting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) charter flights used for deportations. The directive aimed to prohibit the transport of immigration detainees at the airport, which is adjacent to an ICE facility.
The Department of Justice challenged the order in February 2020, arguing it obstructed federal immigration enforcement and violated the Supremacy Clause, the intergovernmental immunity doctrine, and an Instrument of Transfer agreement from World War II. A district court ruled in favor of the Trump administration, finding that Constantine’s order discriminated against ICE contractors and breached federal agreements.
King County, a self-declared “sanctuary county,” appealed the decision. Constantine’s legal team contended that the order reflected the county’s commitment to inclusivity and protection of community rights, opposing deportations on humanitarian grounds.
However, the Ninth Circuit panel, in a ruling written by Judge Daniel Bress and supported by Judges Michael Hawkins and Richard Clifton, upheld the district court’s decision. The court found that Constantine’s order violated both the Supremacy Clause and the Instrument of Transfer agreement. It dismissed the county’s ideological arguments, emphasizing that deportation policies fall under federal jurisdiction.
The ruling also determined that Constantine’s order increased ICE’s operational costs and presented a direct legal injury to the federal government. Furthermore, the court held that the order breached the intergovernmental immunity doctrine by unfairly targeting federal operations and contractors, effectively obstructing lawful immigration enforcement activities.
