Commissioners in Coos County rejected a plan to allow federal immigration authorities to stay in their jails after learning that it would put the county in legal danger.
Despite not being legally enforceable, the proclamation would have shown unwavering support for the federal agency known as ICE, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Coos County Board of Commissioners maintains that taking part in federal initiatives to enforce immigration law is both morally and legally required. Commissioner Rod Taylor read the proposal into the record.
Taylor’s plan is in violation of Oregon regulations that date back to 1987 and forbid state and local law enforcement from either assisting ICE in enforcing federal immigration law or doing it themselves. This includes requests made by ICE detainers to local jails to detain individuals who may be in the country illegally.
The news took a fresh turn on Wednesday when the Department of Justice was told by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to stop financing sanctuary cities like Portland.
That should sound familiar to you. In 2017, President Donald Trump attempted to stop funding Oregon’s police enforcement. (Two years later, a federal court in Eugene prohibited Trump from denying the money.)
Coos County Sheriff Gabe Fabrizio and District Attorney Jody Newby informed the county board on Tuesday that they would be vulnerable to lawsuits and loss of state money if they violated the state’s Sanctuary Promise rules, which would not be covered by the county’s insurance.
According to Fabrizio, the county’s law enforcement authorities might potentially lose their certification.
Since you lack the permission to take that individual up, the state agency may come down and say, “Well, you’re guilty of kidnapping now,” he added.
The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, according to ICE advocates, supersedes Oregon’s sanctuary legislation. However, prior testing have determined sanctuary laws to be lawful under the Fourth Amendment’s safeguards against unreasonable searches, according to the attorney for Coos County, who spoke at the conference.
Commissioner Drew Farmer explained his vote against the measure by saying that although sanctuary policies may not be popular in coastal Cools County, where 58% of the county’s 35,000 voters chose Trump in November, they are still the law of the nation.
Farmer went on to say that the county jail is already overcrowded and has had to release 15 inmates this year.
“These are not people you want in the community,” he remarked, referring to the jail roster. Someone who works on a farm here is not someone I would trade for a rapist.
Taylor was the only one to vote in favor of the motion, which was rejected by Farmer and County Chair John Sweet.
For The Oregonian/OregonLive, Zane Sparling reports on court proceedings and breaking news. You may contact him at [email protected], 503-319-7083, or pdxzane.
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