In a unanimous ruling, a panel of three judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed that the federal government holds the power to deport foreign nationals who are residing in the United States illegally, even if local authorities object.
Judge Daniel Bress authored the 29-page ruling, which received the concurrence of judges Michael Hawkins and Richard Clinton.
In April 2019, King County Executive Dow Constantine issued an executive order that sparked an ongoing debate. The order directed county officials to ban fixed base operators on a county airfield near Seattle from providing services to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement charter flights used for deporting illegal foreign nationals.
Constantine, the county executive, has issued an order barring King County International Airport in Washington state from assisting in the transportation and deportation of immigration detainees under the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The order applies to detainees traveling within or arriving or departing the United States or its territories.
A prominent ICE-Seattle base of operations is conveniently located next to the airport.
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit, claiming that Constantine’s order violated the intergovernmental immunity doctrine of the Supremacy Clause and a World War II-era Instrument of Transfer agreement that permitted the federal government to utilize the airport in King County.
After the ruling in favor of the federal government, King County proceeded to appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
The Ninth Circuit panel upheld the district court’s summary judgment that the order violated the Supremacy Clause and the Instrument of Transfer agreement.
The panel determined that the federal government had the legal standing to sue under Article III. It also found that the government suffered two specific and tangible injuries. Firstly, the inability to conduct charter flights resulted in increased operational costs for ICE, which directly affected the United States in a unique and individual manner. Secondly, there was an imminent risk of future harm stemming from the Executive Order.
The court notes that the federal government’s injuries were not merely speculative, but clearly linked to the order. If there had been no order, an FBO would have resumed servicing ICE charter flights.
The court held that Constantine’s order violated the intergovernmental immunity doctrine by improperly regulating the transportation of noncitizen detainees by the federal government. It prevented ICE from using private FBO contractors at Boeing Field and discriminated against the United States and its contractors.
King County, known as a “sanctuary county,” has taken significant steps to foster inclusivity and remove obstacles to affordable housing, transit, healthcare, economic opportunities, and childhood development for all individuals. By doing so, the county has emerged as a frontrunner in safeguarding the rights of every member of our communities. Our region does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, hate speech, or any actions that instill fear, intimidation, or isolation.
The order from Constantine was based on ideology, as he argued that federal deportations give rise to significant human rights concerns. King County views these concerns as incompatible with its values, which encompass the significance of maintaining family unity, the necessity of addressing racial disparities in policing, the danger of sending individuals to unsafe conditions abroad, and the constitutional obligation to ensure due process for all.
In February 2020, the Department of Justice took legal action in response to the order, arguing that it was illegal and hindered federal immigration enforcement. They also claimed that it violated the Instrument of Transfer agreement under the Surplus Property Act of 1944. The Trump administration went even further, seeking to completely nullify the executive order and obtain a permanent injunction against it.
The district court ruled in favor of the Trump administration, granting summary judgment. It determined that Constantine’s order showed discrimination against ICE contractors, while allowing other individuals to utilize the airfield. Furthermore, the court concluded that the order also violated the Instrument of Transfer.
The King County authorities lodged an appeal with the Ninth Circuit, asserting that Constantine’s order was within the bounds of the law.