Editors Note: This story was originally published in the Iowa Capital Dispatch and we have added the response to the attorney general from Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx at the bottom of this story. Our previous story about Sheriff Marx can be read here.
March 27, 2025
By Clark Kauffman – Iowa Capital Dispatch
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed a lawsuit Thursday against Winneshiek County and its sheriff, Dan Marx, for allegedly violating Iowa law by discouraging law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials.
The lawsuit, filed in Polk County District Court, claims that Iowa law “requires stripping Winneshiek County of state funding until the sheriff follows the procedure to reinstate the funds” by disavowing his previous public statements on immigration enforcement.
The lawsuit acknowledges that Sheriff Marx “has complied with every Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer request made of his office since Nov. 26, 2018.”
In a Feb. 4, 2025, Facebook post, Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx, a Republican, stated that if his office received “detainer” requests to hold suspected illegal immigrants, and those requests were not vetted and approved by the courts, they would be rejected by his office.
In his post, Marx distinguished between detainer requests of that kind and what he called “valid” judicial warrants and court orders. He wrote 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.”
Bird claims that assertion by Marx is false.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican like Bird, had sent the attorney general’s office an official complaint seeking an investigation into the Facebook post.
In a report summarizing her investigation, Bird alleged Marx’s post violated Iowa Code Chapter 27A, which prohibits state law enforcement from discouraging public cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Bird says Marx’s Facebook post discourages such cooperation by making “false claims” and by threatening to interfere with enforcing Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers.
According to Bird, Marx has said that his office has complied with all 21 of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers that it has received. But on Wednesday, she said her office would take action against Marx unless he posted a statement specifically stating that his previous claims were wrong and that he disavowed them.
Bird provided Marx with specific language to include in the public statement, which she said had to conform “substantially” to the language she dictated. The statement was written in the first-person to appear over Marx’s signature.
Although Marx’s office recently deleted the January Facebook post, Marx did not publish the statement prescribed by Bird.
In a press release issued Thursday, Bird’s office said “the attorney general gave the sheriff an opportunity to fix the violation” by 5 p.m. on Wednesday by issuing the statement she provided. “He refused, even though he knows that the violation may result in a loss of state funding for his entire county,” the press release stated.
“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,” Bird stated in the press release. “He left us with no choice but to take the case to court to enforce our laws and ensure cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”
The lawsuit concedes that rather than “defying” ICE, Marx has “enforced federal and state law whenever asked” and has complied with “every single ICE detainer request made.”
Despite this, the lawsuit alleges, Marx “intentionally posted false information” through his Facebook post. “That false information had the effect of discouraging violation enforcement in violation of the law,” the lawsuit claims, adding that there has been “no public walk back, revocation, or other corrective action” taken.
The lawsuit seeks a court order declaring Winneshiek County to be ineligible to receive any state funds. The lawsuit also seeks “all other relief necessary or appropriate to remedy the effects” of the sheriff’s actions.
Marx has yet to file a response to the lawsuit. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx’s Facebook response to the lawsuit filed by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird
A complaint was filed by Governor Reynold’s Office against Sheriff Dan Marx and Winneshiek County for an alleged violation of Iowa Code Chapter 27A regarding a statement from Sheriff Marx to the “People of Winneshiek County.” The Iowa Attorney General’s Office initiated its investigation of the complaint on February 7, 2025. On February 14, 2025, the Sheriff provided the information requested by the Attorney General. On March 26, 2025, the Attorney General issued her report concerning the investigation. Here is a link to the Attorney General’s investigative report. https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/…/03_CD0CFA355886A.pdf
Upon the conclusion of the investigation, to prevent litigation and potential loss of state funding, the Attorney General’s Office required us to take down the original post and replace Sheriff’s Marx’s original statement with a statement the Attorney General’s Office had scripted. 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.
Sheriff Marx’s response outlines how Winneshiek County has been in compliance with Iowa Code Chapter 27A while protecting the constitutional rights of our citizens. The response also confirms the Sheriff’s Office commitment to remain in compliance with State and Federal immigration laws while staying true to the Constitutional protections afforded the citizens of Winneshiek County.
While we are disappointed and disagree with the Attorney General’s conclusion, we remain confident that this issue can be resolved. Thank you for your continued support.
Another example of fascist overreach and intimidation. Good job Sheriff!