theolympian.com
[excerpt]
Gov. Bob Ferguson to U.S. AG Pam Bondi: WA won’t ‘bend the knee’ to Trump regime

At a Tuesday press conference held in the state reception room on the Capitol campus in Olympia Governor Bob Ferguson responded to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s letter directing Washington state to change laws and policies concerning immigrant protection and limits on law enforcement access to state agencies toward federal immigration enforcement.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson stood his ground Tuesday in the burgeoning battle against the U.S. attorney general over the state’s immigration law. “(Attorney General) Pam Bondi … seeks to have Washington state bend the knee to a Trump administration that, day by day, drags us closer to authoritarianism. That’s not going to happen,” Ferguson said. “I am not intimidated by Pam Bondi, or the president.”
Ferguson held a news conference shortly after noon in the State Reception Room of the Legislative Building in Olympia. There, he delivered his response to an Aug. 13 letter sent by Bondi.
Bondi’s letter demanded that the governor drop the state’s sanctuary policies, giving a Tuesday deadline to reply. Washington state, she wrote, is a “sanctuary” jurisdiction that frustrates federal immigration enforcement to the detriment of the country’s interests. She warned that any official who hampers such efforts may be hit with criminal charges. Noncompliant local and state governments could face civil liability, too.
Ferguson called this part of the letter “breathtaking,” adding that the state won’t be intimated or bullied by “legally baseless accusations.” “In the America that I love, that I taught my children to revere, we resolve our differences peacefully through public discourse — and if necessary, through the courts — not by threatening political opponents with imprisonment,” he said.
Ferguson and Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown have consistently defended the Keep Washington Working Act, which prevents local and state law enforcement from assisting federal immigration efforts. Brown’s office has contended that the act doesn’t thwart federal authorities’ ability to enforce immigration laws. But Bondi has argued to the contrary, saying that such policies “put American citizens at risk by design.” President Donald Trump has also threatened to yank back federal funding for sanctuary locales.
State Rep. Jim Walsh, who also chairs the state’s Republican Party, said in a call before the conference that he hoped Ferguson would comply with Bondi’s demand letter. “If he picks a fight with Bondi,” Walsh said, “everyone in Washington’s going to pay the price for that.”
Ferguson’s office shared his written reply to Bondi following Tuesday’s news conference. His letter noted that the AG’s writing didn’t explain the grounds by which Washington had been pegged as a sanctuary jurisdiction.
The governor accused Bondi of having “baselessly” invoked federal conspiracy, obstruction and harboring statutes that carry criminal penalties. “Your threat to criminally prosecute state officials embarrasses and disgraces the office of the United States Attorney General,” Ferguson wrote. He further argued that if Bondi really believed that the state was in conflict with federal law, she would “make some effort to explain that.” “You did not, because you cannot,” he continued. Ferguson said he’s ready to defend the state from any litigation pursued by Bondi, and to “defend our democracy.” McClatchy has reached out to the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice seeking comment.

https://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/article311753219.html
https://governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-08/FinalResponseLetter.pdf