() A rural county sheriff who is being sued by Washington state’s Democratic attorney general for reportedly violating the state’s sanctuary law says the issue at hand is politics and not about his ability to maintain law and order.

Dale Wagner, the sheriff in Adams County, was sued by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown in March. In the suit, Brown alleges Wagner broke the law when he went against the Keep Washington Working Act, which prohibits local law enforcement from assisting ICE with federal immigration enforcement.

Wagner told on Friday that he is upholding the laws of the state that pertain to situations law enforcement deals with in local communities. He said Brown’s lawsuit has nothing to do with the job he’s doing.

“I think it’s politics,” Wagner said. “We’re dealing with a political situation … and this is going on nationwide. Wherever the immigration topic comes up, we are part of it. Everybody’s part of it right now. We have left and right fighting over territories.”

Wagner said Adams County deputies are not assisting ICE agents in the field in apprehending migrants who entered the country illegally. But he acknowledged that his department is part of an information-sharing agreement based on a contract it has with the federal government. That agreement is, Wagner said, what has Brown upset.

Washington’s attorney general told The New York Times that his lawsuit was filed to ensure that sheriffs comply with the state’s laws.

“Right now, we have federal immigration officials who are, in my view, essentially kidnapping people off the streets without due process,” Brown said. “And I don’t want, nor does most Washington law enforcement want, to be involved in the sort of draconian actions that we’re seeing all across the country.”

Adams County is a conservative area of the state with a largely Hispanic population, the sheriff told . He said that because the country’s demographics resemble those of communities along the U.S. southern border, politics are entering the equation. He said that Adams County “fits the bill, it has become a target.

“Our crimes are getting worse, and things are getting bad,” Wagner said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re all illegal aliens that are doing it, but the reality is, this is the topic of the country right now: immigration.”