County Officials Vowed to 'Block' and 'Interfere' with ICE Operations, Then State AG Entered the Picture

Roughly two months after Sheriff Dan Marx of Winneshiek County made public comments suggesting he would oppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in his jurisdiction, a legal battle has erupted that could cost his county all of its state funding.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a Republican, took legal action against the county in March after giving Marx several weeks to withdraw statements he made in a Facebook post on February 4, according to a report from Fox News.

In the now-removed post, Marx asserted that he would “make every effort to block, interfere and interrupt” ICE detainers, which he described as “simply an unconstitutional request from ICE.” These detainers are formal requests issued to local law enforcement, asking them to hold individuals suspected of being in the country illegally until ICE can assume custody.

Marx defended his stance by stating his commitment was “to make certain your rights are not being abused.”

He continued, “If their actions or paperwork are not within constitutional parameters, then we will make every effort to block, interfere and interrupt their actions from moving forward,” also arguing that “the only reason detainers are issued is because the federal agency does not have enough information or has not taken the time to obtain a valid judicial warrant.”

“Simply put, they are not sure they are detaining the right person and need more time to figure it out,” he added. Marx further claimed that these detainers “are violations of our 4th Amendment protection against warrantless search, seizure and arrest, and our 6th Amendment right to due process.”

He emphasized that his approach to ICE detainers was driven by “constitutional standards … not opinions, politics or emotions.”

Gov. Kim Reynolds, also a Republican, referred the issue to Bird’s office after Marx appeared to publicly announce his intent to defy a state law mandating cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The Attorney General initially sought a retraction from Marx, but when none was forthcoming, her office filed a lawsuit aiming to revoke all state funds from Winneshiek County for violating that law.

Despite his public comments, the lawsuit claims Marx has actually followed every ICE detainer submitted to his office since November 26, 2018. It also cites correspondence in which Marx expressed support for ICE.

Nonetheless, state attorneys accused Marx of posting misleading and inaccurate information. “By stating wrong facts about following State and federal law and misleadingly posting about complying with 21 ICE encounters, the Sheriff intentionally posted false information. That false information had the effect of discouraging violation enforcement in violation of the law,” the suit alleges.

Although the original Facebook post remained online when the legal filing was made, it was later taken down. Tensions between the sheriff and the state, however, persisted.

Bird’s office proposed specific wording for a new post to correct the record, including the line: “It was wrong. It made many incorrect statements regarding my Office’s policies on ICE detainers,” according to KCCI-TV.

Marx declined to use the suggested language. Instead, a new post appeared saying, “The language of the post proposed by the Attorney General was not acceptable to the County. To demonstrate good faith, we chose to take the post down, and for the sake of transparency to the people of Winneshiek County, we are posting, below, our February 14, 2025, response to the AG’s request for information.”

That post reiterated that Marx had, in fact, complied with all ICE detainer requests, despite his earlier statements.

Attorney General Bird emphasized that “sanctuary counties are illegal under Iowa law,” per Fox News.

“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,” she said. “He left us with no choice but to take the case to court to enforce our laws and ensure cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”

Bird’s office reiterated, “All he has to do to end this is fix the problem and follow the law.”

She also connected the situation to broader national issues, saying, “Years of a Biden-Harris border invasion takes a serious toll—even on Iowa, and we’re a long way away from the border. Thankfully, President Trump hit the ground running to secure the border, crack down on drug trafficking, and reduce crime.”