ICE

Lane County commissioners vote to ban use of public funds for federal immigration enforcement

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 weigh protections for local unauthorized immigrants

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

For our friends in Lane County - take action now!

Alert date: 
July 9, 2017
Alert body: 

The election is over and President Trump won.  His campaign focal point was to, once and for all, reign in the rampant disregard for our immigration laws and to finally put citizens first.

Now, it seems that many counties, cities, schools etc. have been whipped up into a frenzy by the paid advocates of unfettered immigration and open borders.  They seem to be trying to scare the very people they are supposed to be advocating for.  Why?

When ICE was contacted about the charges made that they are conducting sweeps across the state, they explained they haven't, they don't and they won't enforce our immigration laws in such a way.  But, open border advocates can't get the emotional driver they need unless they enhance the stories they hear far beyond the reality.

Unfortunately, citizens once again, take a back seat to illegal aliens.  Why on earth are these entities creating "safe havens" for people here illegally?  Are these Commissioners, Mayors, Professors etc, willing to accept the responsibility and the cost of harboring illegal aliens?  I doubt it - that's what they have the tax-payer for.  You get to pay for schools, healthcare, prisons, roads and on and on...

And, one last note.  It was mentioned that the idea was to "protect" people whose only issue was being in the country illegally.  Typically, an illegal alien obtains a stolen identity, typically, they are working here illegally, hired by a business that is using illegal labor,  They may also be getting paid under the table - that's tax fraud.  How are they getting around - probably driving without a license or insurance.  Is it fair to break certain laws, if it benefits the law breaker?

Lane County will be holding a meeting and anyone able to attend should be there and speak up against this sick policy.
 

ANARCHIC: Criminal aliens shielded by Left's symbolism

SALEM, Ore.-Democrats in the Senate today passed a proposal that will force Oregonians to obstruct justice by restraining them from cooperating with law enforcement in dealing with criminals at public schools, public health facilities, courthouses, public shelters and other public facilities.

"This bill is all about the 'undocumented,' and while it serves as a symbol for the Left, it is in reality a shield for criminal aliens to avoid justice," said state Sen. Alan Olsen, R-Canby. "Democrats have used the politics of fear to ignite division and they have stoked fear in the hearts of undocumented workers. Making it possible for criminal aliens to evade justice not only makes Oregonians less safe, it also puts undocumented immigrants in danger."
 
Olsen asked a series of questions to the carrier, Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland. He said the bill is nothing more than a "Trump bill." Olsen said that the senators took their oath to uphold the constitutions of both Oregon and the United States, and that everyone said "yes," or that he hopes they did. 
                                                                                                                      
While Oregon Democrats are bidding to block and deny federal law enforcement legal access to critical information that would help ensure public safety, Union-backed Democrats, formally requested information from the federal government about federal law enforcement activities in Oregon.

Murder victims advocate and child of an immigrant Maria Espinoza has worked across the nation to stand up for the victims of violent lawlessness. Espinoza spoke out on the horrific slaying of college football player Parker Moore. Moore was brutally stabbed to death as he shopped in a convenience store. The unprovoked perpetrator of this tragedy violated multiple laws. Espinoza is worried sick about HB 3464 and is urging Oregon lawmakers to oppose the bill. 
 
"How will you explain to the families of Parker Moore, Dani Countryman and others, that you had a part in making our communities dangerous for our children?" questioned Espinoza. "To move forward [in passing HB 3464] would be an outrage."
 
Espinoza recalled in an interview on her advocacy work how a relative, a World War II veteran, had his monthly pension cut from $240 a month to $200 - "and yet there were people illegally in the country who got everything free."
 
"And sadly, shamefully, I never did anything about it," she said. "For years."
 
Richard LaMountain, a Cedar Mill resident, served as a chief petitioner of the rejected 2014 initiative, Measure 88, which would have directed the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to issue at taxpayer-expense driver licenses to criminal aliens. The measure failed in the Nov. 4 election with a two-thirds no vote.
 
"It was an overwhelming rejection of giving drivers' licenses to illegal aliens," said Jim Ludwick, communications director for Oregonians for Immigration Reform in an interview about Measure 88. "But somehow that doesn't apply to people who are here illegally and think the law doesn't apply to them." 
 
Familias En Accion and Los Ninos Cuentan, on behalf of criminal aliens, sued the State of Oregon following voters defeating Measure 88. Their lawsuit was an effort to undo Oregonians' votes for Measure 88. Kristina Edmunson, then-spokeswoman for Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, said during the dilemma the state "is reviewing the case" but declined to comment further.
 
"When used for the intent of thwarting potential referenda, the emergency clause perverts the relationship between Oregonians and the legislators they elect to represent them," LaMountain said. "We need to restore that clause to its proper, limited role in lawmaking - and the voice of the citizen, as manifested in the referendum, to its paramount place in Oregon's representative democracy." 
 
"We should provide support for [law enforcement] and not support criminal behavior," Marion County resident Karen Franke said. Franke disagrees with Democrats that criminals should be shielded from accountability.
 
Rosenblum says the passage of HB 3464, "is imperative." And that Oregon must take "this important step to protect the rights of all Oregonians."
 
The bill now heads to sanctuary state-advocate and presumed leader of the Trump so-called "resistance" movement Gov. Kate Brown to sign into law.
 
###
 
For follow-up commentary please contact Olsen spokesman Jonathan Lockwood at 971-645-2140, or Jonathan.Lockwood@OregonLegislature.gov.

It's not over yet! CALL or EMAIL today! HB 3464 is still in play!

Alert date: 
July 5, 2017
Alert body: 

Oregon Senate Votes This Week on Expanding Dangerous Sanctuary Law

The Oregon Senate might attempt to jam through so-called "emergency legislation" to expand Oregon's dangerous sanctuary law this week before it adjourns -probably THURSDAY!  We need your help right now to stop them. 
 
Sanctuary policies prohibit or restrict law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials, allowing criminal aliens to live and work freely in communities. House Bill (HB) 3464 worsens Oregon's existing sanctuary law to make it nearly impossible for state and local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials and allows criminal aliens, even those convicted of the most serious crimes, to escape immigration enforcement. 
 
Please call or email your State Senator right now and tell him/her to oppose this dangerous expansion of Oregon's sanctuary policies! 
 
H.B. 3464 prohibits state and local officials from disclosing the immigration status of individuals they encounter thereby prohibiting cooperation with federal officials in the enforcement of immigration law. The Senate should not prioritize the interests of those with no legal right to remain to the detriment of Oregonian citizens. Public safety must be the top priority and HB 3464 moves Oregon in the wrong direction. 
 
Take Action Today 
 
Please call or email your Oregon State Senator and tell them to oppose HB 3464! 
 
If you don’t have contact information for your State Senator, you can find it through a link on the Legislature’s homepage headed “Find Your District and Legislators.”  When you enter your home address, a little card appears that displays the name, phone number, and email address of your State Senator.  If you have difficulty with contact information, call OFIR at 503-435-0141.

Oregon Department of Corrections: Criminal Alien Report June 2017

The Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) June 1, 2017 Inmate Population Profile indicated there were 14,708 inmates incarcerated in the DOC’s 14 prisons.

Data obtained from the DOC indicated that on June 1st there were 981 foreign nationals (criminal aliens) incarcerated in the state’s prison system; approximately one in every fifteen prisoners incarcerated by the state was a criminal alien, 6.67 percent of the total prison population.

Some background information, all 981 criminal aliens currently incarcerated in the DOC prison system were identified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal law enforcement agency that is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. If an inmate is identified by ICE as being a criminal alien, at the federal law enforcement agency’s request, DOC officials will place an “ICE detainer” on the inmate. After the inmate completes his/her state sanction, prison officials will transfer custody of the inmate to ICE.

Using DOC Inmate Population Profiles and ICE detainer numbers, the following table reveals the total number inmates, the number of domestic and criminal alien inmates along with the percentage of them with ICE detainers incarcerated on June 1st in the state’s prisons.
 

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Month/Day/Year

DOC Total Inmates

DOC Domestic Inmates

DOC Inmates W/ICE detainers

DOC % Inmates W/ICE detainers

June 1, 2017

14,708

13,727

981

6.67%

Source: Research and Evaluation DOC Report ICE inmates list 01 June 17 and Inmate Population Profile 01 June 17.

Using DOC ICE detainer numbers, the following table reveals the number and percentage of criminal alien prisoners incarcerated on June 1st that were sent to prison from the state’s 36 counties.
 

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

County

DOC Total Inmates W/ ICE Detainers

DOC % Inmates W/ICE Detainers

Marion

236

24.06%

Multnomah

208

21.20%

Washington

197

20.08%

Clackamas

77

7.85%

Lane

44

4.49%

Jackson

34

3.47%

Umatilla

23

2.34%

Yamhill

22

2.24%

Linn

17

1.73%

Benton

15

1.53%

Deschutes

15

1.53%

Klamath

15

1.53%

Polk

15

1.53%

Malheur

11

1.12%

Lincoln

7

0.71%

Clatsop

5

0.51%

Jefferson

5

0.51%

Wasco

5

0.51%

Coos

4

0.41%

Josephine

4

0.41%

Columbia

3

0.31%

Douglas

3

0.31%

Hood River

3

0.31%

Tillamook

3

0.31%

Crook

2

0.20%

Morrow

2

0.20%

Union

2

0.20%

Gilliam

1

0.10%

Lake

1

0.10%

OOS

1

0.10%

Sherman

1

0.10%

Baker

0

0.00%

Curry

0

0.00%

Grant

0

0.00%

Harney

0

0.00%

Wallowa

0

0.00%

Wheeler

0

0.00%

Total

981

100.00%

Source: Research and Evaluation DOC Report ICE inmates list 01 June 17.

Here are the ways Oregon residents were victimized by the 981 criminal aliens.

Using DOC ICE detainer numbers, the following table reveals the number and percentage of criminal alien prisoners incarcerated on June 1st by type of crime.
 

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Crime

DOC Total Inmates W/ ICE Detainers

DOC % Inmates W/ICE Detainers

Sex Abuse

200

20.39%

Rape

172

17.53%

Homicide

138

14.07%

Drugs

107

10.91%

Sodomy

95

9.68%

Assault

80

8.15%

Robbery

56

5.71%

Kidnapping

27

2.75%

Burglary

21

2.14%

Theft

18

1.83%

Driving Offense

8

0.82%

Vehicle Theft

4

0.41%

Arson

0

0.00%

Forgery

0

0.00%

Escape

0

0.00%

Other / Combination

55

5.61%

Total

981

100.00%

Source: Research and Evaluation DOC Report ICE inmates list 01 June 17.

Using the DOC Inmate Population Profile and ICE detainer numbers from June 1st, the following table reveals the total number inmates by crime type, the number of domestic and criminal alien prisoners incarcerated by type of crime and the percentage of those crimes committed by criminal aliens.
 

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Crime

DOC Total Inmates

DOC Domestic Inmates

DOC Inmates W/ICE Detainers

DOC % All Inmates W/ICE Detainers

Sex Abuse

1,737

1,537

200

11.51%

Rape

971

799

172

17.71%

Homicide

1,708

1,570

138

8.08%

Drugs

851

744

107

12.57%

Sodomy

1,016

921

95

9.35%

Assault

2,051

1,971

80

3.90%

Robbery

1,544

1,488

56

3.63%

Kidnapping

284

257

27

9.51%

Burglary

1,310

1,289

21

1.60%

Theft

1,126

1,108

18

1.60%

Driving Offense

218

210

8

3.67%

Vehicle Theft

466

462

4

0.86%

Arson

74

74

0

0.00%

Forgery

47

47

0

0.00%

Escape

32

32

0

0.00%

Other / Combination

1,273

1,218

55

4.32%

Total

14,708

13,727

981

 

Source: Research and Evaluation DOC Report ICE inmates list 01 June 17 and Inmate Population Profile 01 June 17.

Using DOC ICE detainer numbers, the following table reveals the self-declared countries of origin of the 981 criminal alien prisoners by number and percentage incarcerated on June 1st in the state’s prisons.
 

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Country

DOC Total Inmates W/ ICE Detainers

DOC % Inmates W/ICE Detainers

Mexico

786

80.12%

Guatemala

18

1.83%

Cuba

15

1.53%

El Salvador

13

1.33%

Honduras

13

1.33%

Vietnam

13

1.33%

Russia

9

0.92%

Federated States of Micronesia

7

0.71%

Ukraine

7

0.71%

Cambodia

4

0.41%

China

4

0.41%

Laos

4

0.41%

Marshall Islands

4

0.41%

Peru

4

0.41%

Philippines

4

0.41%

Somalia

4

0.41%

Thailand

4

0.41%

Canada

3

0.31%

Other Countries

65

6.63%

Total

981

100.00%

Source: Research and Evaluation DOC Report ICE inmates list 01 June 17.

Beyond the DOC criminal alien incarceration numbers and incarceration percentages, per county and per crime type, or even country of origin, criminal aliens pose high economic cost on Oregonians.

An individual prisoner incarcerated in the DOC prison system costs the state approximately ($94.55) per day.

The DOC’s incarceration cost for its 981 criminal alien prison population is approximately ($92,753.55) per day, ($649,274.85) per week, and ($33,855,045.75) per year.

Even taking into account fiscal year 2016 U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) award of $1,788,075.00, if the State of Oregon receives the same amount of SCAAP funding for fiscal year 2017, the cost to incarcerate 981 criminal aliens to the DOC will be at least ($32,066,970.75).

None of preceding cost estimates for the DOC to incarcerate the 981 criminal aliens includes the dollar amount for legal services (indigent defense), language interpreters, court costs, or victim assistance.

Bibliography

Oregon Department of Corrections Population Profile June 1, 2017:
http://www.oregon.gov/doc/RESRCH/docs/inmate_profile_201706.pdf

Oregon Department of Corrections Population Profile (unpublished MS Excel workbook) titled Incarcerated Criminal Aliens Report dated June 1, 2017.

Oregon Department of Corrections Issue Brief Quick Facts IB-53, January, 2017:
http://www.oregon.gov/doc/OC/docs/pdf/IB-53-Quick%20Facts.pdf

U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), 2016 SCAAP award: https://www.bja.gov/funding/FY2016-SCAAP-Award-C.PDF

This report is a service to Oregon state, county and city governmental officials to help them assess the impact of foreign national crime in the state.

David Olen Cross
Cell Phone: 503.991.2089
E-mail: davidolencross@hotmail.com Read more about Oregon Department of Corrections: Criminal Alien Report June 2017

Immigration enforcement boost felt throughout Yakima Valley

In Granger, attorneys with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project can’t keep up with the number of deportation hearings.

In Yakima, inmates held on suspicion of violating immigration laws have nearly tripled since March.

And across the Yakima Valley, social service agencies report a drop in the number of immigrants seeking help, while crime victims in this country illegally are becoming more reluctant to file complaints.

These are all signs of President Donald Trump’s executive orders stepping up immigration enforcement, said attorney Lara Contreras, who directs the Immigrant Rights Project.

Contreras said her office of three immigration attorneys and two legal advocates can’t keep pace with a growing number of deportation proceedings in Seattle and Tacoma, where a huge backlog has fostered a five-year delay on final rulings.

“There are going to be many people representing themselves in front of an immigration judge,” Contreras said. “We don’t have enough staff to represent everyone facing deportation.”

On a recent morning, a half-dozen people came to the firm’s Granger office seeking advice.

Among them was Yolanda, who feared her 18-year-old son would be targeted for deportation if he applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

“There’s no category of an individual who is exempt from ICE enforcement.”

-Rose Riley, ICE Spokeswoman

A student at Heritage University, he works with his mother in the fields from 3 a.m. to about 3 p.m. before heading to classes at 4 p.m.

But her anxiety was calmed when she was told her son would not be exposed to deportation if he applied for DACA, the Obama administration’s policy that allows certain undocumented people who entered the country as minors to obtain a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation, and eligibility for a work permit.

She said she doesn’t want her son to end up like her, trapped in field work. He’s majoring in business administration with a minor in computer science.

“People are fearful. There are people afraid to gather information regarding their cases,” Contreras said. “People are afraid to go to the police department because they are afraid they’ll get turned over to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).”

Incarceration

Under a federal contract, the Yakima County jail typically houses 50 to 90 people suspected of being here illegally each month, with the exception of last October when about 150 Haitian refugees were housed here temporarily.

Most of them are brought to the jail from other communities throughout Central Washington, while a small number are identified by ICE after being arrested on local charges. The county receives about $84 a day for each inmate it holds for ICE.

But this year, the jail has seen a steady increase in ICE holds. In March, there were 141 inmates suspected of being here illegally in the jail — a 156 percent increase over the same month last year when 51 such inmates were housed. Numbers in April, May and June were double or nearly triple during the same time last year.

The bigger numbers are the result of Trump’s executive orders, which provide broader guidelines for seeking out undocumented immigrants, said Rose Riley, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman in Seattle.

And the vetting process has become less selective than in previous years, when ICE officials typically focused on serious criminals, Riley said.

“There’s no category of an individual who is exempt from ICE enforcement,” she said. “If they came into the country illegally or unlawfully, they will be subject to ICE enforcement.”

Under the executive orders, ICE officers don’t hesitate to ask anyone associated with someone who they arrest about their status, she says.

“It’s not dependent on their criminality, but on whether they are here legally or not,” she said.

“There’s definitely an increase,” said Department of Corrections Director Ed Campbell. “We’re seeing folks moved through from other jurisdictions.”

Campbell attributes some of the increases to an overall rise in the jail population, which has shot up from a daily average of 750 to 800 inmates to more than 900.

A clogged court

Last year, 2,124 people — 729 of them charged with a crime other than being here illegally — were removed from the region, which includes Washington, Oregon and Alaska, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security.

This year, the region is on pace to surpass that. Within about a three-month period from Jan. 20 to April 29, a total of 1,070 people were deported, of whom 798 were charged with a crime.

But immigration courts in Seattle and Tacoma, where the region’s cases are heard, had more than 9,470 pending cases as of March 27.

Of those, 982 are in the Tacoma court, which hears cases of those incarcerated.

Nationwide, there are 598,943 pending cases, of which 24,431 involve people convicted of crimes other than being in the country illegally.

Many cases are being delayed for months with their final hearings pushed out five years, Contreras said.

Those delays have some willing to waive due process to avoid being detained during the proceedings, said Maru Mora with Latino Advocacy in Bellingham, which works with groups across the state on immigrant rights and advocacy.

“In some cases people are just saying ‘look, if you’re going to deport me, just go ahead and deport me,’ ” she said.

More than 90 percent of those detained in Tacoma do not have attorneys and many have limited or no access to legal libraries to prepare their cases, Mora said.

Many have been moved to a county jail in northern Oregon where a legal library isn’t offered nor any facility to work on cases, she said.

And those detained in Tacoma only get one hour a day in the legal library, Mora said.

“So when they come back to court they’re not prepared for their hearing,” she said.

“The huge backlog, it’s impossible to get a lawyer; it’s expensive, and you’re transferred to a county jail.”

Meanwhile, social service providers have seen dramatic dips in people seeking services.

In May, the YWCA reported huge declines in women seeking emergency shelter, with only 28 compared to the 140 woman and 158 children the agency helped the year before.

Catholic Charities of Yakima, which provides an array of social services including low-income farm worker housing, said it saw a similar dip in people seeking services early in the year, but now people are coming in again.

“When we see a dip, usually it’s attributed to ICE activity in the area,” said CEO Manual Villafan. “That keeps them from accessing services our organization provides.”

Contreras said victims of crimes are reluctant to come forward as witnesses or seek protection orders.

“They fear that an ICE officer is lurking by,” she said. Read more about Immigration enforcement boost felt throughout Yakima Valley

U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons: Criminal Alien Report May 2017

The United States having a significant foreign national population residing within the nations boundaries, be they legally or illegally present in the country, unfortunately includes those who commit crimes.

The extent and impact of foreign national crime on the U.S. citizens and residents of this country is unambiguously revealed by a simple search on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) inmates statistics website under the heading of inmate citizenship.

Here are the countries of origin, moreover, the number and percentage of those countries citizens recently incarcerated in the U.S. BOP prison system (The most recent BOP crime numbers available were from May 27, 2017.).

Inmate Citizenship:

- México 26,416 inmates, 14.1 percent;
- Colombia 1,721 inmates, 0.9 percent;
- Dominican Republic 1,516 inmates, 0.8 percent;
- Cuba 1,249 inmates, 0.7 percent;
- Other / unknown countries 9,589 inmates, 5.1 percent;
- United States 147,419 inmates, 78.5 percent;

Total Inmates 187,910 inmates.

To explain the meaning of these preceding criminal alien inmate numbers and percentages, I will translate them into words:

Combining May 27th BOP criminal alien inmate numbers, there were 40,491 criminal aliens in the BOP prison system. Alien inmates were 21.5 percent of the federal prison population; more than two in every ten inmates were criminal aliens.

With 26,416 Mexican nationals being incarcerated in the BOP prison system, at 65.2 percent, they were the vast majority of criminal aliens in federal prisons.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons breaks down the federal prison population into 13 types of offenses. One of the top five offenses, the reason inmates are serving time in federal prisons is for immigration crimes. There were 14,541 inmates in the BOP prison system incarcerated for immigration crimes; they were 8.2 percent of the federal prison population.

A wakeup call to all American citizens, eventually the majority of these criminal aliens from México, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Cuba and other countries will be released from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons after completing their prison terms.

The country of Mexico, America’s neighbor to the south, is both historically and literally a land bridge of many frequently unsecured trails, roads, highways and railways used by persons trying and far too often successfully illegally entering our country.

United States citizens should, if they haven’t already, contact their members of Congress (two Senators and one Representative) and tell them to support President Donald J. Trump’s proposal to build a wall (fences and technology) along the U.S. border with Mexico to stop the threat of tens of thousands of criminal aliens, once they are released from the federal prison system and deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to their countries of origin, ability to illegally return to this nation and harm its citizens and residents.

David Olen Cross of Salem, Oregon writes on immigration issues and foreign national crime. He is a weekly guest on the Lars Larson Northwest Show. He can be reached at docfnc@yahoo.com or at http://docfnc.wordpress.com/ Read more about U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons: Criminal Alien Report May 2017

Urgent - your calls and emails are critical today

Alert date: 
June 28, 2017
Alert body: 

HB 3464

in the Senate Rules Committee awaiting a hearing

Call – Write – Email TODAY!

Tell them you expect that Oregon governmental agencies should be allowed to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officials.

--------------------------------

Senate President Peter Courtney

sen.petercourtney@oregonlegislature.gov

503-986-1600

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Senator Ginny Burdick (Committee Chair)

Sen.GinnyBurdick@oregon​legislat​ure.gov ​

503-986-1700

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Senator Ted Ferioli

sen.tedferrioli@oregonlegislature.gov

503-986-1950

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Senator Brian Boquist

Sen.BrianBoquist@oregonlegislature.gov

503-986-1712

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Senator Lee Beyer

Sen.LeeBeyer@oregonlegislature.gov

Democrat - District 6 - Springfield

503-986-1706
 

Call today and respectfully ask that House Bill 3464 not be advanced out of committee.  Oregonians should expect that all public officials would willingly  cooperate with federal immigration enforcement officials.

Top Justice Official Scoffs at Immigrant Crime Reporting "Chilling Effect"

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week on the growth of the MS-13 gang and the nexus to immigration enforcement failures, a senior Department of Justice official strongly rebuffed assertions by two senators that cooperation between local police and ICE causes immigrants to fear reporting crimes.

This spurious claim, known as the "chilling effect", is the number-one rationale offered by sanctuary jurisdictions to try to justify their non-cooperation policies. The origins of the theory are unknown, but I first noticed it soon after stricter immigration enforcement measures were adopted in the wake of 9/11, particularly as they were applied to aliens from terror-associated countries. I have read every study I can find on this topic and explored voluminous government and law enforcement data to find evidence that crime reporting by immigrants suffers when local police cooperate with ICE, but it just isn't there; this is a myth created by anti-enforcement advocates. The most reliable academic studies and government data show that robust cooperation between locals and feds does not affect crime reporting by immigrants.

Nevertheless, this myth is routinely invoked in any discussion that involves ICE and local law enforcement agencies. The Senate hearing was no different; the "chilling effect" is the only argument available to politicians who want to push back on the common-sense approach of using immigration laws to target MS-13, one of the most brutal gangs ever to operate within our borders and whose membership consists largely of illegal aliens, including many youths who were allowed by the Obama administration to be resettled here as "unaccompanied minors".

Two senators, Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), tried to get the Justice Department witness, Kenneth Blanco, to validate the chilling effect. Instead Blanco pushed back, and essentially told them it was bunk, saying that the fear that immigrants have in reporting crimes is fear of retaliation by the gangs, not fear that contact with police will lead to their deportation. Their exchanges appear below, verbatim.

FRANKEN: Mr. Blanco, in my state of Minnesota, former Minneapolis policy chief Tim Dolan used to say that crime victims are far less likely to dial 911 if they know that the police officer who responds to that call is going to check their papers, and the statistics bear this out.

A 2013 study from the University of Illinois found that 44 percent of Latinos report say they are less likely to call the police even if they are the victim of a crime because they believe officers will use that as an opportunity to check their immigration status. Forty-five percent say they are less likely to volunteer information about crimes they've witnessed. And this isn't even about immigrants, 28 percent of Latinos born in the United States say they are less likely to call the police when they are the victim of a crime because they fear police will ask them about their status or the status of people they know.

This study reports responses of Latinos asked to agree or disagree to a statement on a hypothetical situation that they would be less likely to report a crime for fear they or others would be asked about immigration status in a jurisdiction where police are "involved with immigration enforcement". There was no survey of natives or other ethnic groups to compare responses. In contrast, DOJ statistics and other reliable academic studies analyze actual crime victims and actual crime reporting across ethnic and/or citizenship groups, without using loaded questions.

Now that study was conducted before the 2016 campaign, a campaign in which then candidate Trump made scapegoating immigrants a central pillar of his platform. I would suspect that if this same study were conducted today after this administration has condemned cities that limit their participation in federal immigration enforcement that the study would find that even fewer Latinos are willing to call the police when they are in danger. Mr. Blanco, you've worked in law enforcement for a long time. You've been a US attorney, worked closely with other US attorneys, do you agree that in order to effectively fight MS-13 here in the United States, our police need to have strong relationships with our immigrant communities?

BLANCO: Thank you Senator. Yes, I've been in law enforcement for 28 years. I can tell you that it is very important to have trust and respect with our immigrant communities and for our immigrant communities to have trust and respect for the police. There are a host of reasons why a person may not call the police, and much of it has to do with the fear they have of the violent crime gangs, not so much of the police.And that really, in my 28 years, that has been the fear that they have of perhaps calling the police, not the other way around. They are really scared of them, they are terrified of these people who live in their communities. So its these people in the communities that the MS-13 gang members are targeting, and they are generally the immigrant community that come over. And that's generally what they fear, at least from what I've seen. > (Emphasis added.)

Later, Blanco again pushed back on invocations of the chilling effect, and said that immigrants also feared what would happen when local police released gang members or other perpetrators back into the community, as occurs in sanctuary jurisdictions:

BLUMENTHAL: To make the point that I think perhaps Senator Franken raised, depending on cooperation from victims means that discouraging them may actually have a counterproductive effect. Now you're somebody who's undocumented who is following the law, working hard, playing by the rules, as we often characterize them, may be discouraged from coming forward if they believe they're going to be deported, or if they believe they're going to be arrested. So I'm wondering whether you have suggested or would suggest any changes in policy, this is a question that could be answered by any of you, that would enable you to be more effective in going against these gang members to elicit more cooperation from victims and survivors.

BLANCO: Senator, I'll take that question first. Senator, there are a whole host of reasons I think we talked about a little bit earlier why victims don't want to come forward or witnesses don't want to come forward -

BLUMENTHAL: Fear being one of them -

BLANCO: Well, it could be –

BLUMENTHAL: Maybe a predominant one.

BLANCO: I can tell you that I haven't seen that in my practice in 28 years federally, I have not seen it, I understand that there is some discussion about it. I can tell you about one of the things that does concern them. One thing that concerns them is when they live in a community where these same people have been released back into the community, that worries them, and that prevents them from coming forward. When you have places where people get to hide because law enforcement can't get them. (Emphasis added.)

BLUMENTHAL: That's the fear of retaliation.

BLANCO: By the defendants, by those people who are committing crimes. That's one reason. There are a whole host of reasons.

BLUMENTHAL: Or by their friends and cohorts.

BLANCO: Could be, could be.

BLUMENTHAL: So all the more reason that they need support from law enforcement, and I don't know what can be done. Obviously the witness protection program can't be extended to thousands and thousands of people it's not feasible. But I don't know what more can be done to encourage that cooperation.

BLANCO: Well I can tell you hearings like this are important, and I can tell you having communications with our DHS counterparts is really important. This is, as you can imagine Senator, a lot of our discussion. But what one of the things I think is really important and I'll reiterate this, there is nothing like American law enforcement. There isn't, anywhere in the world. Law enforcement individuals every day talk about how we can help victims and witnesses, so this is something that's always on our mind. And I think that is also translating into these communities as well. (Emphasis added.)

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.


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