Prosecutors ask Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank to retract post about not hiring noncitizens

By Peter Talbot
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Pierce County prosecutors have asked Sheriff Keith Swank to take down a social-media post where he said the Sheriff’s Office would not hire noncitizens. Prosecutors told Swank his statement is contrary to law and policy, and it could leave him and the county liable.

Swank was undeterred by the Jan. 21 legal memo deputy prosecuting attorney Michelle Luna sent him. His post remains up on X, where he frequently riffs on news and politics for his nearly 34,000 followers.

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“I don’t care what she says, I’m not taking it down,” Swank told The News Tribune on Wednesday of his initial reaction to the memo.

Luna noted in her legal memo to Swank that several months ago he asked the county’s Civil Service Commission to disqualify two candidates for jobs in the Corrections Bureau of the Sheriff’s Office because they are not U.S. citizens.

“It is our understanding that the Chief Civil Service Examiner denied that request and made your office aware at that time that your requested course of action violated state law,” Luna said.

In Washington, state law RCW 43.101.095 permits individuals who are lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders, and recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to serve as commissioned law enforcement officers. Like any other police officer, they have to obtain certification through the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission and go through a background investigation, among other requirements.

Swank’s Jan. 20 post was about Senate Bill 5068, which originally proposed extending eligibility for employment as police officers, firefighters, prosecutors and correctional officers to anyone authorized to work in the United States under federal law. That is a broader distinction than current law allows. By the time the bill passed the state Legislature on Tuesday, amendments to the bill had cut out police officers.

“Democrats are at it again (well they are always “at it”) with SB 5068 that they are bringing forward from 2025,” Swank’s X post said. “This bill allows law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and prosecutors to hire non-citizens. The Pierce County Sheriff Office (PCSO) will not hire non-citizens. I have big issues with non-citizens arresting citizens. I thought that was a no-brainer, but apparently, it is not.”

Luna’s memo responding to Swank’s post asked the sheriff to retract and correct his statement.

Luna is the Civil Division chief for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Her memo recommended that Swank issue a statement on his X account that the Sheriff’s Office will consider all applicants for employment who meet the legal eligibility requirements, and that his previous statement is contrary to law and Sheriff’s Office policies.

“As an elected official you have sworn to uphold the US and State Constitutions, the laws of the State of Washington , and to faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office,” the memo reads. “Your statement maintains an official position of Pierce County that contravenes state and local law, as well as PCSO policies. Your statement and any such course of action may result in legal and financial liability to Pierce County.”

The News Tribune obtained the memo through a public-records request. Public records also showed that Swank forwarded the memo to attorney Joan Mell later that evening and said, “Not for legal advice. For humor.”

Mell has been temporarily prohibited from acting as Swank’s attorney in a sprawling legal battle launched last year by elected Prosecutor Mary Robnett .

Swank told The News Tribune that Mell didn’t respond to him forwarding her the memo. He said he shared it with her because he had spoken with Mell months ago “whenever she was my attorney” about the liability of hiring noncitizens to be law enforcement officers.

Asked what was humorous about the memo, Swank said it was that the Prosecutor’s Office was telling him he had to hire noncitizens.

“We just talked about the liability with it, and here they are, they want to set me up for liability and lawsuits and whatnot, so that was the funny part about it,” Swank said.

Luna’s memo listed two laws and five policies she said Swank’s statement violated. The laws are RCW 49.60.030(1)(a) and RCW 49.60.180, which she said prohibit discrimination in employment based on citizenship or immigration status. The policies came from Pierce County code, civil service rules and the Sheriff’s Office policy manual.

The memo told Swank he and the county were at “great risk” of being sued, and he could face personal and professional liability which might not be covered under county indemnification provisions. Those provisions describe when Pierce County has a duty to defend its employees against civil claims and actions.

Swank told The News Tribune he isn’t worried about the liability prosecutors had pointed out.

“I would love for somebody to try to sue me, so we can go to court about this,” Swank said.

Swank said he wanted to go to court to discuss the problem of conducting a background investigation for anyone who is not from the United States .

“We can’t find their criminal history,” Swank said. “We can’t interview their family or friends like we do here.”

Swank said it’s also difficult to hire noncitizens for civilian positions — even candidates from nearby Canada — because of problems with screening them properly. He said he was more comfortable with the idea of hiring noncitizens when it came to civilian positions.

Efforts to expand employment eligibility for law enforcement officers are often framed as a way to expand the pool of potential applicants. According to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs , Washington has ranked last in the nation for police staffing for years. When the bill was introduced to the Legislature in 2025, WASPC said it supported the proposal and that it had the potential to increase the number of law enforcement recruits across the state.

Swank also took issue with giving firearms to noncitizens who are precluded by federal law from owning one. Federal law does allow lawful permanent residents to own guns, and according to a 2024 letter from the Department of Justice , DACA recipients who are certified law enforcement officers can have firearms issued to them by their employing government agency.

Swank said it baffles his mind that Washington , which he called “the gun control state,” wants to give guns to noncitizens. He said the officer would have to check in their duty firearm at the end of their shift.

“They leave their gun at their duty station and then drive their marked patrol car home at night without a gun,” Swank said. “If something happens, they can’t take any police enforcement because they don’t have any gun. What if somebody says there’s a cop, I want to kill him? It’s completely unsafe.”

The sheriff’s statements about not hiring noncitizens also came up at a raucous community forum that took place Jan. 24 at Urban Grace church in downtown Tacoma.

The panel-style event included Swank, Robnett, an attorney from the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project , a representative from the immigrant advocacy group La Resistencia, a homeless outreach worker and a human rights advocate who works with AID Northwest.

During the event, Swank spoke about his opposition to hiring noncitizens as police officers. He explained that he took issue with someone who isn’t a U.S. citizen taking away a citizen’s rights during an arrest, and he questioned what might happen if the officer were to use deadly force. He wondered what would stop that person from getting on a plane and fleeing to the country they were from.

“Where are your loyalties at?” Swank said during the event.

In response to a question about immigration enforcement, Swank also said his office isn’t working with federal immigration authorities in part because doing so would put his deputies at risk of individual liability.

When Robnett spoke, she said she was gratified to hear that Swank doesn’t want to cause the county liability, telling the audience that Swank saying he won’t hire noncitizens is illegal discrimination. She said it was the same as not hiring someone because of their skin color.

Many people who attended the event shouted at Swank and booed him throughout, yelling out, “Shame!”, and sometimes calling him names. Some others were there to support him. After the event, in an email to The News Tribune , Swank said some of the attendees said they wanted to kill him. Law enforcement officers were stationed throughout the venue, and a number of them surrounded Swank when it ended.