Is Wyoming a Sanctuary State? Statute, ICE Detainers, Penalties

No, Wyoming is not a sanctuary state. State law expressly forbids any city, town, county, or state agency from adopting a sanctuary policy, and it requires local officials to cooperate with federal immigration authorities rather than shield immigration status information from them.¹ Wyoming has gone further than simply declining sanctuary status: it has written penalties into law, created mandatory reporting duties, and given ordinary residents the power to sue local governments that refuse to comply.

What the Wyoming Statute Bans

The anti-sanctuary rules live in Title 9, Chapter 25 of the Wyoming Code, titled “Prohibition on Immigration Sanctuaries.” The core provision bars any state agency, city, town, or county from enacting a policy that prohibits or restricts officials and employees from communicating or cooperating with federal immigration authorities.¹ It does not matter whether that policy comes from a city council, a voter initiative, or a referendum. Every path to a sanctuary rule is closed.

The statute also directly prohibits a jurisdiction from declaring or designating itself a sanctuary city, town, county, or state.¹ A local official cannot avoid the ban by using a different label; the law targets the conduct, not just the word.

“Sanctuary” is defined broadly as any jurisdiction that limits or refuses to communicate or cooperate with federal officials regarding immigration status information.² That reaches formal ordinances and informal practices alike.

What Government Employees Have to Share

Wyoming does not stop at banning sanctuary rules. It affirmatively protects the flow of immigration information. No government entity, agency, or official can stop an employee from sending immigration status information to the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Justice, or from receiving such information back.³

Employees are also protected when they maintain records about citizenship, work authorization, or immigration status, and when they exchange that information with any other federal, state, or local government entity.³ A county that disciplined a clerk or social worker for voluntarily passing immigration information to federal agents would be acting against state law. These state rules reinforce federal law at 8 U.S.C. § 1373, which separately prohibits restrictions on sharing citizenship or immigration status information with federal immigration agencies.⁴

In 2025, the legislature extended the reporting duties beyond law enforcement. The state health department and the department of family services must now notify federal immigration authorities when they determine that someone applying for public benefits lives in a household that includes a person who is in the country illegally. That connects public benefits administration directly to immigration enforcement, a step most states have not taken.

How the Ban Gets Enforced

Enforcement does not run through the attorney general. Instead, Wyoming law gives any lawful resident of the state the right to file a writ of mandamus in court to force a non-cooperating state agency or local government to comply.³ A writ of mandamus is a court order compelling a government body to carry out a duty it is legally required to perform.

That design makes enforcement citizen-driven. If a resident believes a city or county is restricting cooperation, they can go to court directly, without a state agency complaint process or a prosecutor’s decision to act. The Wyoming Attorney General’s office has not set up a specific sanctuary complaint procedure, and that office is limited by law to advising state officials, not private citizens. The private right of action fills the gap.

Worth knowing what the statute does not do. It does not strip state grant funding, impose automatic fines, or create per-violation penalties against the local government itself. The consequence is a court order, backed by the court’s contempt power if the order is ignored.

ICE Detainers in Wyoming Jails

Immigration detainers are requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement asking a jail to hold someone up to 48 extra hours past their scheduled release so federal agents can take custody. Under federal law these are requests, and ICE itself acknowledges that detainers do not impose a legal obligation on local agencies.⁵

Wyoming’s anti-sanctuary law changes the practical picture. Because state law bans policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, a Wyoming sheriff or police chief who adopted a blanket rule of refusing ICE detainers would likely violate the statute.¹ Any lawful resident could then ask a court to order compliance. Federal law keeps detainers voluntary; Wyoming effectively bans the local policy that would turn that voluntariness into a standing refusal. Case-by-case decisions may involve more judgment, but a categorical no-detainer policy is exactly what the statute targets.

Penalties for Hiring Unauthorized Workers

Chapter 25 also makes it a crime to knowingly hire, contract with, recruit, or refer for a fee an unauthorized worker. Each individual hire is a separate offense, so exposure stacks quickly.³ The fines rise with each conviction:

First offense: misdemeanor, fine between $375 and $3,200.
Second offense: fine between $3,200 and $6,500.
Third or subsequent offense: fine between $4,300 and $16,000.

Because the penalties apply to each unauthorized worker separately, an employer who knowingly hires five workers faces five counts, even from a single hiring event.³ For a small business, a third offense covering multiple workers can reach six figures.

Protections for Crime Victims

Wyoming’s cooperation framework does not carve out an explicit exception for crime victims or witnesses in its general immigration status reporting rules. Federal law provides the primary protection through the U visa program, which is available to victims of qualifying crimes who cooperate with law enforcement investigations.⁶

A U visa petition requires a certification from a law enforcement agency confirming that the victim has been, is being, or is likely to be helpful in investigating or prosecuting the crime. Local police, sheriffs, prosecutors, and judges can all sign the certification, and an active investigation, charges, or a conviction are not required.⁷ Information in a U visa petition is federally protected as confidential, and DHS faces restrictions on how it can use or share that information. Those federal confidentiality rules apply regardless of Wyoming’s state reporting requirements.⁶

1
Justia. Wyoming Code 9-25-102 – Prohibition on Immigration Sanctuary Policies and Designations
2
Wyoming Legislature. Wyoming HB0133 – Prohibition on Immigration Sanctuary Policies
3
Wyoming Legislature. Wyoming SF0124 – Immigration Enforcement Provisions
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1373 – Communication Between Government Agencies and the Immigration and Naturalization Service
5
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration Detainers
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. U Visa Law Enforcement Resource Guide