Oregon legislation

OFIR meeting Saturday, April 14 2:00pm

Alert date: 
April 11, 2018
Alert body: 

Invite a friend and plan to attend OFIR's upcoming meeting Saturday, April 14th from 2:00 - 4:00pm.

Learn what's new with Initiative Petition #22 - to Repeal Oregon's sanctuary statute and find out what YOU can do to help get the initiative to the ballot this fall.  Learn more at www.StopOregonSanctuaries.org

Dan Laschober, candidate for House District 26 will join us.  All candidates are welcome.  If a candidate would like time to speak, please contact us in advance of the meeting.  If a candidate drops in and there is time at the end of the meeting, they will be given TWO minutes to introduce themselves to the group. Remember, please, OFIR is a non-partisan, single issue organization and we do not endorse candidates.

The primary elections are just around the corner.  This is a critical election and OFIR encourages everyone to be certain your voter registration is current and that you are well educated on the candidates and their positions on issues important to you.

Volunteer to work on a campaign, ask questions of candidates you are uncertain of, contact them via their website to confirm opinions you have about the candidate.  It's your responsibility to be educated before you vote.  And, it is critical that you VOTE!

We hope to see you at the meeting Saturday, April 14 at 2:00pm at the Best Western Mill Creek Inn - across from Costco in Salem, Oregon.

 

 

Oregon bill combats DACA termination, continues college tuition equity

Despite national efforts to end DACA, undocumented students in Oregon will continue to have access to tuition equity if Senate Bill 1563 passes.

Students who are not citizens have historically had to apply for "official federal identification" — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals documentation — before they can be eligible for resident tuition at public universities.

Otherwise, they have to pay non-resident or international tuition costs, which can be three or four times more than in-state tuition per year.

But since the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s deferred action program was terminated in 2017, the department is no longer accepting applications.

The Oregon bill is an attempt to bridge that gap, removing the restriction from undocumented students living in the state and continuing protections put into place in Oregon years ago.

In short, it would allow these students to continue getting access to lower tuition costs, scholarships and other financial aid. 

"This is the only country, the only state and the only home they have ever known," said Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, one of the chief sponsors of the bill. "Pure and simple, they are Americans in thought, word and deed."

Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, Rep. Diego Hernandez, D-Portland, and Rep. Teresa Alonso León, D-Woodburn, are also chief sponsors.

Courtney worked on various bills in the past that sought similar equity for undocumented students, but did not come to fruition, including Senate Bill 10 in 2003 and Senate Bill 742 in 2011. Both passed the Senate but not the House, even with bipartisan support.

However, a Tuition Equity bill was passed via House Bill 2787 in 2013. This session's bill would protect the 2013 legislation, keeping the path to college open for the same students covered before.

"I didn’t know what I was doing at the time. I didn’t know about ‘tuition equity’ or federal immigration laws, we didn’t have DACA or DREAMers," Courtney said. " And the frustration these students felt after working so hard to graduate, only to realize they would be unable to afford college."

Not much opposition was voiced at the Senate Education Committee hearing Wednesday afternoon. However, Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, requested additional stats on how many students would truly stand to benefit from the program.

The students covered by this bill must have been brought to the United States under the age of 16, are younger than 30 years old, do not pose a threat to national security or public safety and have continuously resided in the U.S. for the past five years.

Many of the education committee members, in addition to those listed as chief sponsors, are regular sponsors, including Chair Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, and Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton.

"To punish young people brought here by their undocumented parents would be wrong. It would be cruel. It would be un-American," Courtney said. "They are every bit a part of our American family.

"Let’s send Senate Bill 1563 to the Floor," he said.

The work session for the bill was held over to the next committee meeting, scheduled for Monday, Feb. 12 at 1 p.m. in Hearing Room C at the Capitol.

One student's story

Edith Gomez Navarrete was brought to Oregon illegally from Mexico when she was 1 year old.

She graduated high school with honors, earned Bachelor's and Masters degrees and become a fourth-grade teacher at a dual English-Spanish immersion school in Eugene.

And even though she was one of only five students in her high school class to earn a full International Baccalaureate Diploma, she still faced many obstacles accessing higher education.

In 2012, Gomez Navarrete was accepted to Oregon State University and the University of Oregon, but was told she would have to pay international student tuition — close to $30,000 a year.

She was already living on her own and supporting herself. She said it would have been impossible to pay $120,000 for an undergraduate degree plus living costs.

"Undocumented students are ineligible for most scholarships, no matter how hard we work or how strong our academic record because the minimum documentation requirement is permanent residency," she said.

Gomez Navarrete shared her story when testifying at the hearing Wednesday.

She was able to access a school's Tuition Equity program and earn some scholarships as well, but could not access federal aid as an undocumented student.

"Without Tuition Equity, there was truly no possible chance we could ever pay for college," she said. "All we want is an opportunity."

In high school, Gomez Navarrete heard from many friends who saw no sense in even completing high school, because college seemed unattainable. Many dropped out.

"Look what happened when I had the opportunity," she said. "When we talk about the need to diversify Oregon’s teaching force so we can better reach all kids – they are talking about me."

While not all people who are undocumented at Latino, and not all Latino people are undocumented, there is a persistent educational achievement gap for Latino students.

More than 40 percent of Latinos in Oregon have earned less than a high school diploma, compared to only 9 percent of their white counterparts.

Additionally, only 23 percent of Latinos have some college or Associate Degree, only 12 percent have a Bachelor's Degree or higher. These numbers compare to 36 percent and 31 percent for their white counterparts, respectively.

"Oregon needs to pass Senate Bill 1563 to keep these opportunities alive, so young people have a reason to finish high school and have an opportunity to meet their potential," she finished. "We just want to find the chance to do what we were meant to do."

Contact Natalie Pate at npate@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6745, or follow her on Twitter @Nataliempate or on Facebook a www.Facebook.com/nataliepatejournalist. Read more about Oregon bill combats DACA termination, continues college tuition equity

OFIR Membership Meeting Sat. Nov. 18th at 2:00pm

Alert date: 
November 11, 2017
Alert body: 

You're invited to attend OFIR's upcoming membership meeting Saturday, Nov. 18th at 2:00pm.

OFIR will provide an update of our progress on Initiative Petition #22 and our efforts to Repeal Oregon's Sanctuary Law.

The NEW signature sheets that include our certified ballot title will be available for those that want to gather signatures of friends, family, neighbors or, who plan to attend an event or particular location to gather signatures.

We'll share many great tips and ideas for successful signature gathering, too.

While the election is a year away, candidates are interested in meeting you and sharing their plans for Oregon with you.  We'll see who stops by to say hello.

We will meet from 2:00 - 4:00pm at the Best Western Mill Creek Inn across from Costco, in Salem.

If you have any questions, please call the OFIR line at 503.435.0141.

Invite a friend to join you!  See you Saturday!

The free pass for criminal aliens bill

There was such a whirl of activity in the final days of the late, unlamented session of Oregon’s Legislature that further wounds to citizenship and the rule of law slipped through with very little notice.

Looking into the history of HB 2355, “Relating to public safety; and declaring an emergency,” we find that the innocent-sounding summary says:  “Directs Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to develop method for recording data concerning officer-initiated pedestrian and traffic stops.” 
 
The bill was said to be aimed at “racial profiling” – the claimed unfair treatment by police of racial minorities.  It was introduced on January 9, 2017. But because of amendments that conveniently came much later, HB 2355 might as well now be called the free pass for criminal aliens bill.
 
At a July 4 session of the House Ways and Means Committee which was considering HB 2355, a majority of Committee members voted to reduce the penalty for a Class A misdemeanor from the standard 365 days to 364 days.  What a difference a day makes!  Now aliens who may or may not be here legally can escape the federal rule that makes deportable those aliens convicted of Class A misdemeanors.
  
HR 2355 was pre-session filed at the request of Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.  There was little publicity, and most voters were probably unaware of the contents of the bill, especially the addition of the part benefitting criminal aliens.  The bill sailed through House hearings with almost no public opposition.
 
The House vote was 36 Ayes and 23 Nays. All Democrats voted Aye except Rep. Boone who was excused.  All Republicans voted Nay except Reps. John Huffman and A. Richard Vial.
 
News of the bill’s passage on July 5 by the House appeared in some Oregon newspapers, referring to it as an anti racial profiling bill.
 
The bill went to the Senate the very next day, July 6, where it passed quickly without any hearing, and the Legislature adjourned on July 7.
 
The Senate vote was 20 Ayes and 9 Nays. Sen. Knopp (R) was excused. All Democrats voted Aye except Sen. Betsy Johnson, who voted Nay.  Republicans were split, 8 Nays to 4 Ayes. Republicans voting Nay were:  Sens. Baertshiger, Boquist, Ferrioli, Girod, Kruse, Linthicum, Olsen, Thatcher.  The Aye-voting Republicans were: Sens. DeBoer, Hansell, Thomsen, Winters.
 
An account of final passage was published on July 11 by the Portland Tribune, written by Paris Achen of the Capitol Bureau.  Like her account of House passage, it ended with this paragraph: 
 
“Another provision reduces maximum penalty for a Class A misdemeanor from 365 days of imprisonment to 364 days. That change was meant to prevent federal deportation of legal immigrants who are convicted of a Class A misdemeanor and may be a refugee, enrolled in school in the United States, or are the spouses or family members of a U.S. citizen, said Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland. A sentence of 365 days triggers mandatory federal deportation.” 
 
However, HB 2355 as amended and passed will benefit all criminal aliens legally and illegally here, not just a favored few.  This bit of legislative history illustrates how Oregon’s legislative leadership and allies deceptively manipulate human sympathy to expand benefits, incentivize illegal immigration, degrade the value of citizenship, and endanger public safety.
 

Jeff Sessions to Oregon: State’s ‘sanctuary’ policies ‘endanger us all’

PORTLAND — In a speech to federal law enforcement officers, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday urged Oregon politicians to reconsider the state’s “sanctuary” law.

Sessions pointed to a slew of high-profile crimes committed by unauthorized immigrants in Oregon and nationwide as he tried to make the case that the 1987 state law makes Oregonians less safe.

“The problem is that the (sanctuary) policies tie your hands,” he told the law enforcement officials and other federal workers. “Sanctuary policies endanger us all.”

Sessions’ 20-minute address at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in north Portland, in a room normally used for immigrant naturalization ceremonies, contained few surprises.

The Trump administration all year has been pressuring sanctuary cities and states to enforce federal immigration laws or lose federal funding.

Oregon’s leaders have staunchly resisted those efforts, however, though an effort is underway to ask voters to repeal the sanctuary law next November.

Oregon’s law limits communications and information sharing between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials, allegedly making it tougher for federal authorities to apprehend Oregon residents for immigration law violations.

But the state law gives local police some wiggle room. Lane County, for example, provides more information to federal officials about foreign-born jail inmates than Multnomah County provides about its jail population.

The federal government has said it typically wants local police to detain unauthorized immigrants until federal officials can arrive to take them into custody. Oregon law doesn’t allow that level of cooperation.

A crowd of protesters arrived several hours before Sessions. They held signs and led derogatory chants about the attorney general in a corralled area a fair distance away from the immigration office building. Their raucous chants could be heard, faintly, during the attorney general’s address.

Democrats also pushed back on Sessions’ message.

In a public letter, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler accused the Trump Administration of trying to “coerce local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws.”

“In Portland, we do not merely tolerate diversity, we celebrate it,” he wrote.

Sessions suffered a defeat last week when a federal judge in Illinois temporarily blocked his efforts to withhold federal money for police from sanctuary cities.

The judge agreed with the city of Chicago’s argument that the attorney general doesn’t have the authority to add new conditions for local government to receive grants.

Sessions didn’t mention that ruling on Tuesday, but he did try to refute a common argument in favor of sanctuary policies: that they allow unauthorized immigrants to report crimes to local police without fear of local police then alerting federal immigration authorities who would deport those immigrants.

“That does not make sense to me,” Sessions said Tuesday. “Would releasing someone who had been arrested 10 times this year into your community give you more confidence in law enforcement?” Critics of sanctuary laws say the laws allow repeat offenders of local or state laws to remain at liberty in the United States, even though those people could be deported because of their illegal immigration status.

Sessions referred to an Oregon case involving Sergio Martinez, an unauthorized immigrant who had been deported 20 times. Martinez allegedly committed several crimes after the Multnomah County jail released him late last year.

Federal officials, including acting U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams, are upset that Multnomah County didn’t honor a federal “detainer” request to keep Martinez in jail until federal officials could pick him up.

But sheriffs in Oregon say the state’s 1987 sanctuary law and court rulings prevent them from complying with federal detainer requests or providing any form of assistance or support to federal immigration enforcement officials.

“Political leaders have directed state and local officers to refuse these (detainer) requests,” Sessions said. “Cooperation has been a key element in informed crime fighting for decades.”

Similar conflicts between local and federal law enforcement agencies are playing out across the nation.

However, Oregon sheriffs have some leeway in how they choose to interpret and implement the state’s sanctuary law.

In Lane County, jail booking information for everyone, including foreign-born inmates, is entered into a state database that federal immigration officials can access.

If requested, the county will call federal authorities to give them 30 minutes notice before an inmate they’ve asked to track is released from jail, according to Carrie Carver, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.

That is somewhat similar to a crime victim notification system that exists, under which the general public can sign up to monitor specific inmates.

Lane County also allows federal ICE officers into the jail’s “pre-booking” area to potentially pick inmates up. The general public cannot access those areas.

Conversely, Multnomah County earlier this year clarified that their policy allows deputies to provide no more information and no more access to county facilities than what the county provides to the general public. Read more about Jeff Sessions to Oregon: State’s ‘sanctuary’ policies ‘endanger us all’

OFIR meeting Saturday, Sept. 30 - don't miss this one!

Alert date: 
September 20, 2017
Alert body: 

You won't want to miss this meeting!  OFIR has invited two NW United States Regional immigration officers to join us.

Not long ago Governor Brown sent out a very misleading Press Release filled with misinformation about Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in our state.

So, just exactly what can agents do - and not do, while enforcing immigration laws in Oregon?

Melissa Nitsch, the Community Relations Officer for ICE covering Washington, Oregon, and Alaska and Quinn Andrus, Community Relations Officer for U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services will join us ...prepared to separate the real facts from the fear fanning fiction about ICE operating in Oregon.

This is a must attend event.  Invite a friend to join you Saturday, Sept. 30 from 2 – 4pm at the Best Western Mill Creek Inn, across from Costco in Salem

If you have questions, please call 503.435.0141

 1 person, standing


 

Oregon Expands Dangerous Sanctuary Law

While California is the most well-known sanctuary state, Oregon was actually the first one in the country. (The Daily Caller, Aug. 8, 2017) It passed its sanctuary law over 30 years ago. (Id.) Now that Governor Kate Brown has signed HB 3464, Oregon gets a new distinction, now being the most extreme sanctuary state. (Id.) Oregon’s new law makes 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. (H.B. 3464)

Specifically, the law prohibits state and local agencies in Oregon from sharing information about individuals including their contact information, time and location of their public appointments, the identity of relatives, and their place of employment. (Id.) The law also prohibits these institutions from requesting information about a person's immigration or citizenship status. (Id.) If they already have that information, they “may decline to disclose” the status to federal authorities unless required by law or court order, according to the new law. (Id.)

Outrageously, Governor Brown signed the sanctuary law a mere two weeks after criminal alien Sergio Jose Martinez was accused of raping a 65 year-old woman in her home and sexually assaulting another woman in a parking garage. (The Washington Times, Aug. 16, 2017) Martinez had previously been deported 20 times and had a long history of criminal activity, including burglary and battery, spanning several states. (The Oregonian, Aug. 3, 2017) In December 2016, Martinez was in a Multnomah County jail when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a detainer on him. (Id.) Despite the detainer request, Multnomah County released him from jail without contacting ICE. (Id.) Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese said that he could not detain Martinez because of Oregon’s sanctuary law. (See KGW.com, Aug. 1, 2017) In June, Martinez was arrested again in Multnomah County. (Id.) He was released on July 17, after serving 31 days in jail. (Id.) One week later, Martinez was arrested for those violent sexual attacks on the two women. (Id.)


  Read more about Oregon Expands Dangerous Sanctuary Law

'Sanctuary State' Repeal Campaign Takes Advantage Of New Oregon Rule

Backers of a campaign to repeal an Oregon law that aids undocumented immigrants are taking advantage of new petition rules to make an early start on gathering the signatures they need to qualify for the 2018 ballot. [See the Stop Oregon Sanctuaries website.]

Cynthia Kendoll, president of Oregonians For Immigration Reform, says her group was unable to make the 2016 ballot with a pair of immigrant-related measures because their signature gathering was held up by lengthy legal fights over the wording of the ballot title.

Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson last month began the process of changing the rules so that initiative campaigns for the first time could gather an unlimited number of signatures before the wording of the ballot title was hashed out.

That seemingly arcane change could have a major impact on initiative campaigns, particularly ones that don’t have a lot of money to flood the streets with paid petitioners.

Kendoll said that ballot title challenges “have become more about delaying the initiative process than they are about making certain that we have proper language” for explaining a measure for voters.

A coalition called One Oregon opposes changing the 30-year-old “Sanctuary State” law, which limits local and state police cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The group has also filed a legal appeal with the state Supreme Court challenging the ballot title, which is meant to be a neutral description of the initiative.

Andrea Williams is executive director of Causa, an immigrant rights group, and a leader of the One Oregon coalition.

She said that Kendoll’s group has started early enough that it could probably qualify for the ballot even without Richardson’s new rules. She said the group filed an appeal to get the most “accurate and clear” ballot title.

Kendoll acknowledged her group is taking some risk by going ahead with signature gathering before waiting for a ballot title. 

In particular, several groups have talked about mounting a legal challenge to Richardson’s rule change. Ben Unger is the executive director of Our Oregon, a labor-backed coalition group. He said the secretary of state’s office should start over on the rules change because it contained some procedural errors. And his group is also looking into whether Richardson actually has the authority to allow initiatives to collect signatures without having a ballot title affixed to the signature sheets.

Oregon law says that petitioners have to gather at least 1,000 signatures before they can get a ballot title.  Richardson used that language to say that he could change the rules to allow petitioners to gather as many as signatures as they want until a ballot title is finalized.

If the immigration measure qualifies for the ballot next year, it could attract national attention. A large number of cities and counties around the country — including 15 in Oregon, according to Williams — have “sanctuary” protections for immigrants.

Oregon has the only statewide law, although California legislators are working on a similar measure.

Kendoll said the Oregon law should be overturned so that law enforcement in the state can fully cooperate with immigration officials. She noted the local furor involving the case of Sergio Jose Martinez, accused of attacking two women in Portland last month after being released from custody in Multnomah County last December. Federal officials say they asked the county to hold Martinez, but Sheriff Mike Reese said the agency should have issued a criminal warrant.

Williams said the Oregon sanctuary law improves public safety by encouraging immigrants to cooperate with law enforcement without fear of deportation.

Sponsors of the initiative need to gather 88,184 valid signatures by next July to qualify for the November 2018 ballot. Read more about 'Sanctuary State' Repeal Campaign Takes Advantage Of New Oregon Rule

Man accused of attacking 2 women in NE Portland now faces 27-count indictment

A Multnomah County grand jury has returned a 27-count indictment against Sergio Jose Martinez, who is accused of attacking two women in Northeast Portland last week.

Martinez, described as a "serial immigration violator,'' is accused of sexually assaulting a 65-year-old woman July 24 after entering her Northeast Irving Street apartment through an open window, threatening her with a metal rod, tying her up with scarves and socks, punching her then escaping with her car.

Hours later, he's accused of attacking another woman at knifepoint as she was leaving work and was walking to her car in a parking garage on Northeast Halsey Street. He forced the 37-year-old woman into her car, but she got out, according to police. He then tackled her to the ground and repeatedly bashed her head into the concrete before taking off in her car, deputy district attorney Amity Girt wrote in a probable cause affidavit. "Help, he has a knife...he's threatening to kill me!,'' the woman screamed at the top of her lungs, Girt wrote.

Martinez, 31, is accused of 17 charges stemming from the sexual assault, according to the indictment. He's accused of four counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of first-degree sodomy, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree robbery, and one count each of second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and identity theft in the Irving Street case, according to the indictment.

In connection with the second attack, he's accused of nine more counts, charging him with two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, and one count each of attempted first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, unauthorized use of a vehicle and identity theft.

A final count of first-degree criminal trespass stems from a separate allegation that he unlawfully entered an apartment on Northeast Clackamas Street in Portland as he fled from the second offense. It's also the location where police captured and arrested him. He was found with a bloody, serrated knife with a blade about six inches long, according to court records.

Before he was booked into jail, he was treated for a "meth induced psychosis,'' according to court records.

Martinez is being held on $3.6 million bail in connection with the indictment.

He's scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Martinez has a lengthy criminal record. His immigration status has shined renewed light on conflicting interpretations of immigration enforcement by local and federal authorities.

According to Virginia Kice, of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Martinez is a "serial immigration violator'' who was removed from the country "no less than 13 times since 2008.'' He has a lengthy criminal history that spans three states, including prior convictions for attempted battery, burglary and illegal re-entry to the United States from Mexico.

ICE had lodged an immigration detainer against Martinez when he had been in the Multnomah County jail Dec. 7, according to the agency. The agency requested ICE be notified before his release.

No notification was given when Martinez was released from custody the next day. Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese issued a lengthy statement defending the release. He said the sheriff's office followed Oregon law, which prohibits public agencies from spending money, using equipment or enlisting personnel to enforce federal immigration law.

Reese said federal immigration officials should have sent a criminal arrest warrant signed by a judge to the sheriff's office to detain Martinez. Instead, Reese said, federal immigration officials issued a civil detainer, which he argued can't be used in Oregon.

Yet Kice, the ICE spokeswoman, said Wednesday that the sheriff's statement reflected a "fundamental misunderstanding of the enforcement process.''

"The cases of individuals being sought for removal are almost always handled through an administrative process as opposed to a criminal proceeding,'' Kice said. " The process doesn't involve the issuance of a judicial arrest warrant, neither is there a legal requirement that ICE provide a judicial warrant to law enforcement agencies in order to receive notification about the impending release of a criminal alien.''

Kice said the case shows the importance of recognizing immigration detainers.

"This case underscores yet again why immigration detainers are such a crucial enforcement tool for furthering public safety and why it is highly problematic, and even tragic, when jurisdictions choose to willfully ignore them,'' she said, in a prepared statement.

A Multnomah County grand jury Wednesday returned a 27-count indictment against Sergio Jose Martinez stemming from two assaults in Northeast Portland on July 24. (Aimee Green/The Oregonian ) Read more about Man accused of attacking 2 women in NE Portland now faces 27-count indictment

Federal immigration agency lodged detainer on man accused of NE Portland attacks

Federal immigration agents lodged a detainer in December 2016 against the man accused of attacking two women in Northeast Portland this week, officials said.

When Sergio Jose Martinez was held in the Multnomah County Jail on Dec. 7, 2016, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement requested local authorities notify the agency prior to releasing him, spokeswoman Virginia Kice said in a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday.

Martinez has been deported 20 times, according to Multnomah County court documents. He has a lengthy criminal record that includes several convictions in Oregon...

Local authorities released Martinez on Dec. 8, 2016 without notifying immigration authorities, Kice said.

Oregon law prohibits public agencies from spending money, using equipment or enlisting personnel to enforce federal immigration law....

"MCSO is committed to ensuring we comply with all federal and state laws that govern local public safety agencies with regard to enforcement of immigration policies," he said in an email.

State law prohibits local law enforcement from using agency resources to enforce federal immigration law.

In a September 2016 declaration, Sheriff Mike Reese said the sheriff's office follows the Federal District Court of Oregon's direction...

In February, the sheriff's office opened an investigation into whether county policies were violated when immigration agents arrested a man at an appointment with sheriff's deputies.

Martinez is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her Northeast Portland home on Monday morning, then stealing her credit cards and car. Police say he attacked another woman in a parking garage later that day.

He is charged with several crimes including first-degree robbery, sex abuse and robbery and second-degree assault.

Deportation officers have lodged an immigration detainer against Martinez.

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NOTE:  The law referenced in this article is Oregon revised statute 181A.820.  OFIR is dedicated to overturning this statute via Initiative Petition #22.  If you are interested in helping collect signatures to overturn this statute, please go to www.StopOregonSanctuaries.org or call 503.435.0141 to request signature sheets.  Leave you name, address and how many 10 line signature sheets you would like us to send. Read more about Federal immigration agency lodged detainer on man accused of NE Portland attacks

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