Iowa Attorney General sues Winneshiek County sheriff over immigration flap

DECORAH — Iowa’s Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx.

Brenna Bird says Marx is a “sanctuary sheriff”, accusing him of discouraging law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Back in February, Marx made a post on Facebook saying that immigration detainer requests aren’t always reviewed by a judge and he’d take every effort to “block, interfere, and interrupt” unconstitutional actions.

Bird gave Marx a retraction to post online by 5:00 PM Wednesday afternoon. She says the sheriff’s refusal to do so gave her no choice but to take the case to court.

On Thursday, Marx announced his February post on Facebook had been removed, but added that Bird’s proposed retraction statement was not acceptable to the county. Marx says he has been and will remain in compliance with state and federal immigration laws while staying true to the constitutional protections afforded to the citizens of Winneshiek County.

Winneshiek County stands to lose all state funding if it winds up on the losing side of this case.