Attorney General Bird Sues Winneshiek County Sheriff for Violating Sanctuary County Law

DES MOINES—Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird today announced a lawsuit against Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx for violating the state sanctuary county law by discouraging law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

Sheriff Marx said in a February 4 Facebook post that he “will make every effort to block, interfere and interrupt their actions from moving forward,” when talking about ICE detainers. He also says he has a “long-time stance on not recognizing detainers.”

Governor Reynolds filed an official complaint with the Iowa Attorney General’s office after the sheriff’s Facebook post, where he declared himself a “sanctuary sheriff” who will refuse ICE detainers. The Attorney General’s investigation found that the post violated Iowa Code chapter 27A, Iowa’s sanctuary counties law. The Attorney General gave the sheriff an opportunity to fix the violation by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, which included removing his original post and issuing a clarifying statement to the people of Winneshiek County that he would comply with ICE detainers. He refused, even though he knows that the violation may result in a loss of state funding for his entire county.

“Sanctuary counties are illegal under Iowa law,” said Attorney General Bird. “Sheriff Marx was given the chance to retract his statement, follow the law, and honor ICE detainers, but he refused—even at a cost to his home county. He left us with no choice but to take the case to court to enforce our laws and ensure cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”

The lawsuit was filed in the Polk County District Court.

Read the lawsuit here.

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For More Information:

Alyssa Brouillet | Communications Director

515-823-9112

alyssa.brouillet@ag.iowa.gov