enforcement

The country’s top immigration enforcement officer says he is looking into charging sanctuary city leaders with violating federal anti-smuggling laws because he is fed up with local officials putting their communities and his officers at risk by releasing illegal immigrants from jail.

Thomas Homan, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also told Americans to expect more work site enforcement targeting unscrupulous employers and more 287(g) agreements with willing police and sheriff’s departments that want to help get illegal immigrants off their streets. Eventually, he said, ICE will break the deportation records of 409,849 migrants set in 2012 under President Obama.

“I think 409,000 is a stretch this year, but if [the Justice Department] keeps going in the direction they’re going in, if we continue to expand our operational footprint, I think we’re going to get there,” he told The Washington Times. “Our interior arrests will go up. They’re going to top last year’s for sure.”

Mr. Homan is the spear tip of President Trump’s effort to step up immigration enforcement — perhaps the largest swing in attitude for any agency in government from the last administration to the current one.

Agents and officers have been unshackled from the limits imposed by Mr. Obama, whose rules restricted arrests to less than 20 percent of the estimated illegal immigrant population.

Now, most illegal immigrants are eligible for deportation, though Mr. Homan said serious criminals, recent border crossers and people who are actively defying deportation orders are still the agency’s priorities.

He said the biggest impediment to expanding deportations is no longer ICE priority, but rather a huge backlog in the immigration courts, which are part of the Justice Department. Migrants who in the past would have admitted their unauthorized status and accepted deportation are now fighting their cases.

“They can play the system for a long time,” he said.

That resistance extends well beyond the courtroom.

Migrants are increasingly refusing to open doors for his officers and, when they do, the encounters are turning violent, Mr. Homan said. Use-of-force instances are up about 150 percent, and assaults on ICE officers are up about 40 percent, he said.

Local officials are also pushing back, declaring themselves sanctuaries and enacting policies that block their law enforcement officers from cooperating with ICE.

The refusals range from declining to hold migrants beyond their regular release time to refusing all communication — even notifying ICE when a criminal deportable alien is about to be released into the community.

For Mr. Homan, who came up through the ranks of the Border Patrol and then ICE as a sworn law enforcement officer, that sort of resistance is enraging.

“Shame on people that want to put politics ahead of officer safety, community safety,” he said.

Sanctuaries say that cooperating with ICE frightens immigrants — both legal and illegal — and makes them less likely to report other crimes. They say that is a bigger threat to public safety than crimes committed by illegal immigrants.

Solid data are tough to come by, though some police chiefs say they have been able to calculate drops in crime reporting among Hispanics since Mr. Trump took office, and they blame his get-tough approach to illegal immigration.

ICE is also facing headwinds in the courts. One judge this week halted efforts to deport Iraqi migrants who have been convicted of serious crimes and have been ordered deported, but who now say as Christians they fear for their lives if sent back to their home country.

The judge faulted the U.S. for not being able to guarantee that the deportees won’t end up in territory controlled by Islamic State terrorists, who routinely execute Christians.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court this week issued a ruling that law enforcement cannot hold migrants for pickup by ICE beyond their normal release times. That effectively forbids police from complying with detainer requests, which ask local authorities to hold targets for up to 48 hours.

Mr. Homan said one officer in a jail can process 10 people a day, but once someone is released, it takes a whole team of officers to track down and arrest the person in the community — where interaction is more dangerous for all sides.

That has helped fuel the spike in violent encounters that Mr. Homan highlighted in the interview.

“When we knock on doors, as any law enforcement officer will tell you, it’s risky, it’s dangerous. Compare that to arresting someone in the jail, when you know they don’t have weapons in the jail,” he said.

“It’s a matter of time before one of my officers is seriously hurt or doesn’t go home because someone made a political decision on the backs of my officers,” he said.

But he said he won’t be chased out of “sanctuaries” and pointedly raised a section of federal code — 8 U.S.C. 1324 — that outlaws attempts to “conceal, harbor or shield” illegal immigrants.

“I think these sanctuary cities need to make sure they’re on the right side of the law. They need to look at this. Because I am,” he said.

Asked whether that means he will recommend prosecutions, he said, “We’re looking at what options we have.”

The law carries a penalty of five years in prison in most cases, but penalties could rise to include life in prison or even death if someone is killed during the crime.

Mr. Homan said refusing to cooperate is counterproductive for sanctuary cities, whose goal is to protect illegal immigrants from deportation. He said if his agents have to knock on doors in the community, then thy are likely to encounter still more illegal immigrants to round up.

“If I arrest a bad guy in the jail, I arrest him. But if I go to his home or his place of employment and arrest the bad guy, and there’s five guys with him? They’re going to come too,” the chief said.

Indeed, those kinds of arrests have stirred anger among advocacy groups, which say “collateral” arrests are hurting immigrant communities.

Not all communities are resisting.

Mr. Homan said the number of police and sheriff’s departments signed up for the 287(g) program allowing them to help process illegal immigrants for deportation from their jails has already doubled under Mr. Trump and should triple by the end of the year.

He said he also has received inquiries from departments that want to restore 287(g) task forces, which would train state and local police to enforce immigration laws on the streets. Mr. Homan said he is studying that possibility.

Mr. Homan has become a target for immigrant rights groups — particularly after the ICE chief linked this weekend’s horrific deaths of 10 migrants at the hands of smugglers to sanctuary cities.

“Dishonest and disgusting,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice Education Fund. “This country deserves an immigration debate that connects the dots between development and opportunity in home countries, safe and legal migration policies, and intelligent immigrant integration policies. What it doesn’t need are hard-liners shamelessly politicizing a tragedy.”

Mr. Homan, who led the investigation into an even worse 2003 incident in which 19 migrants died in a trailer in Victoria, Texas, said the solution is to enforce the laws and persuade people not to make the dangerous journey in the first place.

His agency has even begun arresting parents who pay smugglers to bring their children on the dangerous journey to the U.S. Mr. Homan said it was too early to talk about numbers for that operation.

But he challenged his critics to see what he sees.

“People who don’t think we should enforce immigration law — I wish they’d hang out with me for a week,” Mr. Homan said. “I wish they were with me in Phoenix, Arizona — people held hostage. A guy with duct tape all over his body, with a hole poked out in his mouth where he breathed through a straw for days, until they paid his fee. They weren’t with me on the trail in the Border Patrol where we found dead aliens abandoned by smugglers. They weren’t with me standing in the back of that traffic trailer with a 5-year-old boy who suffocated in his father’s arms.” Read more about ICE CHIEF WANTS TO SLAP SMUGGLING CHARGES ON LEADERS OF SANCTUARY CITIES

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Police previously arrested the 31-year-old man linked to two violent attacks on women in Northeast Portland more than 10 times in the past decade, according to records obtained by KOIN 6 News.

Sergio Jose Martinez remains in the Multnomah County Detention Center with bail set at more than $2 million.

On Wednesday, Martinez was arraigned at the Multnomah County Justice Center on a total of 13 felonies including burglary, sodomy, sexual abuse, robbery and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

He has been linked to two separate attacks on July 24 in Northeast Portland.

The first attack happened near the intersection of Northeast 17th and Irving, according to police. Martinez used scarves and socks to bind the victim’s hands and feet and blindfolded her, according to court documents. He proceeded to violently attack the woman physically and sexually.

The second attack happened near Northeast 21st and Halsey several hours after the first attack, according to police. Martinez is accused of approaching a woman with a knife and threatening to kill her. Police believe that Martinez was trying to kidnap the woman as she left work.

According to an official Portland Police Bureau report, officers have arrested Martinez a total of 13 times since 2008.

February 2008 – Drinking in public
March 2008 – Theft of a motor vehicle
March 2008 – Hit and run
January 2017 – Criminal trespassing
February 2017 – Drug offenses
February 2017 – Interfering with public safety
March 2017 – Fugitive Warrant
March 2017 – Detox, civil hold
March 2017 – Fugitive warrant
April 2017 – Theft of services
April 2017 – Shoplifting
June 2017 – Fugitive warrant
July 2017 – Criminal trespassing

He was also cited in June 2017 for providing false information to police.

Prior to his arrest on Monday, his most recent arrest was for criminal trespassing. Details about that case were not immediately disclosed because of the on-going investigation into the two assaults Martinez is accused of committing.

The police bureau has a total of 7 different names and various birth dates Martinez has used over the years.

Martinez has a history of illegal entry into the US

Records show Martinez, at the time of his arrest on Monday, did not have a fixed address and was considered by the bureau as “transient.” In December 2016 and February 2017, Martinez used an address in the 6900 block of Southeast Nehalem Street. Attempts to reach the current owner of the residence listed were not immediately successful Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

According to court records reviewed by KOIN 6 News, Martinez’s first criminal case in Multnomah County was filed in March 2008. He was charged with three misdemeanors. The case went into warrant status in April 2008 when Martinez failed to show up for his arraignment. He was arraigned on the case in December 2016 but the case was dismissed by the DA’s Office for unknown reasons in January 2017.

In January 2017, the DA’s Office also dismissed a 9-count indictment filed against Martinez in March 2008. The case remained in warrant status for years, according to court records.

On December 29, 2016, Martinez was issued a citation for violating TriMet rules for riding a MAX without a fare at the Hollywood Transit Center. He has never paid his fine and the case has been sent to a collection agency, according to court documents. Martinez received similar citations, which also went into collection status, in March and April 2017.

In April 2017, the DA’s Office declined to prosecute Martinez on charges of interfering with public transportation and theft of services. Details of the case were not immediately available.

Martinez’s first conviction in the Multnomah County Circuit Court came in July 2017 when Martinez entered a guilty plea to one count of second-degree criminal trespassing and one count of interfering with a peace officer. Records show there was a “sentence of discharge.” Under Oregon law, if imposed a sentence of discharge, “the defendant shall be released with respect to the conviction for which the sentence is imposed without imprisonment, probationary supervision or conditions.”

Earlier this month, prosecutors also dismissed a single count of possession of meth and giving false information filed against Martinez. Records show the DA’s Office dismissed the drug case and the false info case as part of the plea agreement reached in the criminal trespassing case and interfering case.

On July 12, 2017, the Multnomah County Pretrial Services Program issued a report pertaining to the potential release of Martinez while he was in custody. The author recommended Martinez be held in custody. The report revealed Martinez has a lengthy criminal record out of California including being an alien found in the United States after deportation, parole violations, illegal re-entry to the United States, burglary, battery, theft and obstructing a public officer.

Other jail records show that “[Martinez] has entry/removal from United States to/from Mexico 20 times with at least 5 probation violations from re-entry.”

Jail records submitted in March 2017 show Martinez’s most recent deportation to Mexico was Nov. 2, 2016. It remains unknown how or when he returned to the United States.

Several federal cases have been filed against Martinez for his alleged illegal re-entry into the United States.

A spokesperson with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told KOIN 6 News Wednesday that the agency was looking into Martinez’s cases and would provide an update later Thursday.

In a letter dated September 21, 2016, Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese wrote that the county is “not responsible for enforcing federal immigration policy….MCSO follows the direction of the Federal District Court of Oregon prohibiting local jail systems from honoring ICE detainees. Additionally, there are provisions of Oregon law which restrict our cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”

The letter goes on to state, “The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office does not hold persons in jail based upon their immigration status.”

In a joint statement issued in January 2017, eight high-ranking elected officials within Multnomah County issued a statement reiterating the county’s policy.

“The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office does not give ICE officers access to areas of court facilities that are not open to the public, and does not permit ICE officers to maintain a presence in any County correctional facility….The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office does not notify or alert immigration officials or agencies regarding individuals with whom [it] come[s] into contact.”

Martinez is due back in court next month. Portland police told KOIN 6 News it is likely additional charges will be filed against him. Read more about Man accused of attacking women has long criminal past

A lawsuit was filed Friday, July 21, in Wasco County Circuit Court claiming the regional jail is violating state law by holding immigration detainees.

The lawsuit, filed by the Oregon Law Center in Portland on behalf of four Wasco County residents, asks the court to stop the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facilities (NORCOR) from holding the detainees.

The four plaintiffs in the suit are Brian Stovall, John Olmstead, Connie Krummrich and Karen Brown.

A 1987 state law prohibits the use of state or local resources to “detect or apprehend” people whose only offense is being in the country illegally.

The lawsuit states Oregon law defines apprehend to include “restraining an individual’s liberty so that the [government] can assert the authority of legal process over that individual.”

The suit contends the jail is in violation of that state law through its contract “which requires it to incarcerate individuals solely to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law.”

Will Carey, attorney for NORCOR, said that while state law says resources can’t be used to detect or apprehend illegal residents, “We aren’t doing any of those things, we are just housing prisoners. We also have a policy that we won’t hold anybody who is only being held because they’re a citizen from another country and don’t have proper papers to be here.

“As a matter of fact, the head of NORCOR, our jail administrator Bryan Brandenburg, went through the list the other day and found two people that he didn’t think qualified. He called up ICE and made them come down from Tacoma and pick them up.”

Carey said the lawsuit is a complaint that “an institution is violating Oregon law because it’s cooperating with the United States. So you’re in violation of Oregon law because you’re cooperating with the U.S. That’s going to be an interesting concept. I don’t think they’ve probably even faced this since the Civil War.”

Almost since the jail opened in 1999 it has housed immigration detainees. After a detention facility for detainees was built in Tacoma, the federal government stopped sending detainees to the regional jail, causing a budgeting crisis for the jail.

In 2014, the jail signed a four-year contract with the U.S. Marshals Service to hold federal detainees. It was amended in 2015 to include detainees from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE].

Brandenburg has previously said that all detainees being held at the jail have final deportation orders.

The jail’s current budget anticipates that ICE will use around 22 jail beds per day, though sometimes it is as few as five. The anticipated revenue for the current fiscal year is $1 million.

The lawsuit states the contract requires the jail to accept federal detainees who “are awaiting a hearing on their immigration status or deportation.”

Carey said he believed the lawsuit is “a pure political thing” that was a result of the presidential election. While deportations were high under former President Barack Obama – and the regional jail housed detainees for years without controversy — President Donald Trump campaigned on a hard stance against illegal immigration.

Citizens began attending regional jail meetings earlier this year, and were asked by jail board officials why they were only now focused on the fact that the jail houses detainees. One attendee said she hadn’t realized it before, but was now taking action.

The lawsuit contends the jail does not house federal detainees because of any violation of state or local law.

Rather, the jail uses “county money, personnel and equipment to incarcerate people solely because they allegedly are persons of foreign citizenship present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.”

The suit says the 1987 state law is intended to prevent agencies from assisting “federal officials at any stage of the immigration enforcement process.”

Carey said, “We’ve told the marshal’s office and we’ve told ICE, if they’re not charged or convicted with a crime, then we won’t hold them.”

The lawsuit states, “Whether or not these persons have criminal charges or convictions, the sole reason they are held by NORCOR is to assist ICE in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”

In a press release distributed Monday, Jessica Campbell, co-director of the Rural Organizing Project, a statewide network of over 60 groups organizing for human dignity across Oregon, said, “NORCOR officials have been violating Oregon law by using taxpayer money to detain people for federal immigration purposes.

“This is not only a violation of the law, it’s a violation of the trust Oregonians have in their locally elected officials and their public institutions.”

In May, a spokeswoman for Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum told the Associated Press the 1987 state law did not apply to NORCOR's contract to house ICE detainees because "it doesn't appear that NORCOR resources are being used to detect or arrest people."

Mat Dos Santos, legal director for American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, told Willamette Week in May that he believed the Attorney General’s office was wrong.

“We think it’s a clear violation of state law for a local facility to house ICE detainees.”

He said “apprehend” not only means arrest, but “detain.”

The suit contends the plaintiffs are subject to the risk of additional future taxes.The ICE contract states the jail is responsible for all medical care provided inside the facility to detainees. (The federal government is responsible for all medical care provided outside the facility.)

The contract assumes the jail’s medical expenses are covered in the $80 per diem rate for each inmate.

The lawsuit notes the jail is only paid in arrears for holding detainees, subject to the availability of funds appropriated by Congress.

It notes the contract requires the jail to apprehend escapees at its own expense, at federal direction.

Carey said it costs $6.2 million a year to run the jail, and the four member counties, Wasco, Hood River, Sherman and Gilliam, contribute $3.8 million. Wasco County pays about $2 million of that.

The regional jail helps support the cost of running the jail by renting beds to ICE, Carey said. “So it’s not like we’re taking money away from Wasco County taxpayers, we’re actually precluding them from being taxed for more money.”

Andrea Williams, the executive director of Causa Oregon, a statewide immigrant rights organization, said in a press release, “We applaud the courage of those who are challenging NORCOR’s use of local public funds and hope that NORCOR stops detaining people for federal immigration purposes.

“We must uphold the integrity of Oregon’s 30-year-old law that limits our local resources from being used to enforce questionable federal immigration policies,” said Williams, who is not involved in the lawsuit.

Carey said the Oregon Law Center sent him a letter July 12 telling him that if NORCOR did not notify the federal government it would stop accepting ICE detainees by Friday, July 21, it would file suit. Read more about Jail sued over holding immigration detainees

Three Oregon legislators are spearheading an initiative petition that would repeal the Oregon law prohibiting local and state police from enforcing federal immigration laws.

Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence, Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, and Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Pendleton, certified a ballot title with the Elections Division for Initiative Petition 2018-022, which is proposed for the November 6, 2018 General Election.

The trio is hoping voters will support repealing Oregon Statute 181.850 [ORS 181A.820], which states law enforcement agencies may not use agency money, equipment or personnel to detect or apprehend people who are only violating federal immigration laws by being foreign citizens in the United States.

Oregonians for Immigration Reform, an organization calling for an end to illegal immigration, is "cosigning" the initiative, said communications director Jim Ludwick.

"Every nation has a sovereign right to set its own immigration policies and we believe the state statute is in violation of federal law," Ludwick said. "People should have the chance to vote on this."

Ludwick said OFIR plans to lead a community campaign which includes providing information to residents an gathering signatures for the initiative at places like the Oregon State Fair and other public venues.

"We're going to start a vigorous process to make sure we overturn the sanctuary state of Oregon," Ludwick said.

88,184 signatures are required to certify the initiative for a ballot measure, according to the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division.

Rep. Nearman and Rep. Barreto did not respond to requests for comment. Rep. Esquivel was out of state and could not be reached by publication time.

Andrea Williams, executive director of immigrant rights organization Causa Oregon, said Causa has been keeping an eye on the initiative ever since it was filed.

"The last thing we need is our local law enforcement resources being used for federal immigration purposes," Williams said.

She said Causa has passed 14 inclusivity resolutions across Oregon cities and counties that vow to not allow city resources to be used to enforce federal immigration law. Salem City Councilors voted unanimously to pass the resolution in February.

Williams said the initiative would undue the bipartisan effort in 1987 that brought ORS 181.850 into law, which she says was in response to accusations of police racial profiling.

When President Donald Trump released an executive order that halted federal funding to sanctuary cities and allowed law enforcement to perform the functions of immigration officers in January, local and state police officials said they would not alter the way they operate.

Salem Police, Marion County Sheriff's Office and Oregon State Police stated they would follow state law as long as it an Oregon statute.

Ludwick said, however, local and state law enforcement should follow federal law.

"People need to understand the cost of illegal aliens on the state of Oregon," Ludwick said. "Everybody has to obey the law."

The prospective petition, which was initially filed on April 25, is currently in an appeal period. Registered voters have the opportunity to submit comments and requests for the Oregon Supreme Court to review the ballot until Monday, July 31.

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Lauren Hernandez at lehernande@statesmanjournal.com , call 503-983-6030 or follow on Twitter @LaurenPorFavor
 

  Read more about Oregon legislators push to allow police to enforce immigration laws

Empowered by a president who has "taken the handcuffs off of law enforcement," the nation's chief immigration official revealed Tuesday that deportation targets have surged and that he's planning to deploy more agents and resources to "sanctuary cities" to arrest illegal criminals.

Thomas D. Homan, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in an interview that since Trump entered office, illegal border crossings have crashed by almost 70 percent, "an historic low," arrests inside the country have jumped 40 percent and that demands for illegal criminals in local jails has skyrocketed 80 percent.

"You can like President Trump, not like him, like his policies, not like his policies, but one thing no one can argue with is the effect they've had," said Homan, the former chief ICE enforcement boss and a 30-year immigration agency veteran.

He said that the change in immigration enforcement has been radical — and welcome — under Trump. "You'd think everybody would be celebrating these policies," he said during the 45-minute interview in his office.

One group he says are cheering: Border Patrol and ICE agents. "Now they have meaning to their jobs," said Homan. "What this president has done is taken the handcuffs off of law enforcement officers who are charged with enforcing immigration laws," he added.

The drop in illegal crossings has given ICE a chance to redirect resources to interior United States and immigrants locked up in jails, illegally working jobs and on the run.

A key target is the 300-plus sanctuary cities and counties that do not cooperate with ICE and ignore requests that they detail criminal illegals for ICE arrest and deportation proceedings.

Homan called sanctuaries "ludicrous," adding, "In the America I grew up in, cities didn't shield people who violated the law."

A New York native who took his first immigration job during the Reagan administration, Homan said that he plans to flood sanctuary cities with agents. He has been OK'd to hire 10,000 new agents and many will help track down illegals in those havens.

"The president recognizes that you've got to have a true interior enforcement strategy to make it uncomfortable for them," he said.

He ripped cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and San Francisco that refuse to let ICE officers into jails to seize illegal criminals. He explained that it is much safer for ICE targets, police and citizens to make the arrest in jails than on city streets.

What's more, he said that the sanctuary policies create more fear in immigrant communities by forcing ICE agents to hunt down fugitives at their homes or work. "I'm going to arrest him and anybody else with him because there is no population off the table any more. So if you really want to tap down the fear in the immigrant community, I would think the counties would want me in their jails," he said.

Homan testified before Congress recently that under Trump, no illegal immigrant is safe from deportation, though the administration is prioritizing criminals, fugitives, threats to national security and those who illegally reentered the U.S.

"I don't think that there is a magic number that we need to get to," said Homan.

"What I want to get to is a clear understanding from everybody, from the congressmen to the politicians to law enforcement to those who enter the country illegally, that ICE is open for business. We're going to enforce the laws on the books without apology, we'll continue to prioritize what we do. But it's not OK to violate the laws of this country anymore, you're going to be held accountable," he added.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com Read more about ICE chief: 80% jump in illegal targets, readies national 'sanctuary' crackdown

Lane County commissioners voted Tuesday to bar county employees from using public funds to enforce federal immigration laws in most cases.

The five-member board unanimously approved adding new language to the county’s policy manual banning the use of money, equipment or personnel for “detecting or apprehending persons whose only violation of law is that they are persons of foreign citizenship present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.”

The move is designed to encourage local undocumented immigrants to work with Lane County sheriff’s deputies without fear of deportation.

The commissioners’ vote followed months of lobbying by Lane County residents worried about the effects of President Trump’s stricter enforcement of federal immigration laws. It also comes amid a national debate over so-called “sanctuary city” policies and efforts by liberal-leaning states that don’t want to use locally funded staff to enforce stricter federal immigration policies.

“We are a local government providing local services. If a citizen is afraid to come to us, that really affects our ability to protect people,” Commissioner Jay Bozievich said shortly before the board voted to add the language covering “foreign citizenship” in the Lane Manual.

County officials say the Lane Manual change reflects policies already practiced by agencies such as the Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Lane County Health and Human Services.

The language would allow county personnel to help federal immigration officials if a federal judge had ordered a person to be arrested for violating federal immigration law. However, such situations appear to be rare.

In November, shortly after Trump’s victory, Lane County, mayors of nine cities and other organizations co-signed a statement of unity vowing to protect marginalized residents such as immigrants.

But local speakers and numerous letter writers have urged local governments such as the city of Eugene and Lane County to go further and commit to refraining from helping in federal deportation arrests — even though such assistance by state or local government is already prohibited by Oregon law.

More than a dozen people spoke at Tuesday’s board meeting, each urging the commissioners to approve the language barring county resources from being used for federal deportation efforts.

No one spoke against the Lane Manual change.

“I have no problem with people who come from unimaginable situations who come to this country to make a better life for themselves and their children, whether through legal or illegal means,” said Ellen Furstner, a Marcola resident who described herself as a second-generation refugee.

Lane County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky said staff worked to ensure the policy was within state and federal law.

Oregon Revised Statutes contains identical language to the Lane Manual addition, barring law enforcement from using agency resources for deportation actions against someone wanted solely for violating federal immigration law.

“As of today, we believe this language does not put at risk our ability to access state and federal funds,” Mokrohisky said.

Follow Elon on Twitter @EGlucklich . Email elon.glucklich@registerguard.com .
  Read more about Lane County commissioners vote to ban use of public funds for federal immigration enforcement

Lane County commissioners on Tuesday could add new language to the county’s policy manual barring county employees from using public funds to enforce federal immigration laws in most cases.

A board order commissioners are scheduled to vote on Tuesday would add a provision to the Lane County Manual, under “foreign citizenship,” banning the use of money, equipment or personnel for “detecting or apprehending persons whose only violation of law is that they are persons of foreign citizenship present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.”

The language would allow county staff to help if a federal judge had ordered a person to be arrested for violating federal immigration law. However, such situations appear to be extremely rare.

The language virtually echoes Oregon law, as well as an ordinance the Eugene City Council approved in March. The Oregon law applies to the state and to all political subdivisions in the state, including county governments.

The county move comes amid a national debate over so-called “sanctuary city” policies, and efforts by liberal-leaning states that don’t want to use local staff and money to enforce stricter federal immigration policies sought by President Donald Trump’s administration.

The proposed Lane Manual change puts into county rules the policies already practiced by agencies such as the Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Lane County Health and Human Services, county officials say.

The proposal “makes it more clear at a local level how (state law) plays out here for the county,” Lane County spokeswoman Devon Ashbridge said. “So it’s valuable in that sense. It takes a look specifically at county services and how it will guide how employees will work within that framework.”

The language doesn’t violate state or federal law, Ashbridge said. A provision permits the sheriff’s office to give information to federal immigration agencies about someone arrested for a criminal offense.

It also authorizes the sheriff’s office to arrest anyone charged with violating federal immigration law if a federal judge issues an arrest warrant.

But Lane County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Carrie Carver said the agency is “not aware of any specific cases” of someone being arrested solely on a such an order. Typically, the federal government arrests illegal immigrants without a judge’s order.

Members of the public have spoken up at recent county commissioners’ meetings about protecting local unauthorized immigrants who haven’t committed any crimes besides entering and living in the country unlawfully.

In November, Lane County, mayors of nine cities and other organizations co-signed a statement of unity vowing to protect marginalized residents such as immigrants.

But dozens of speakers and numerous letter writers have urged local governments such as the city of Eugene and Lane County to go further and commit to not help in federal deportation arrests — even though such assistance is already prohibited by state law.

Follow Elon on Twitter @EGlucklich . Email elon.glucklich@registerguard.com . Read more about Lane County commissioners weigh protections for local unauthorized immigrants