By ZANE SPARLING/The Oregonian/OregonLive
Coos County commissioners have rejected a proposal to welcome federal immigration officials into their jails after hearing that the idea could place the county in legal jeopardy.
The proclamation, although technically non-binding, would have offered full throated support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency known as ICE.
“The Coos County Board of Commissioners asserts that it is both legally justified and ethically imperative to participate in federal efforts to uphold immigration law,” went the proposal, read into the record Tuesday by Commissioner Rod Taylor.
Taylor’s plan conflicts with Oregon laws dating back to 1987 that prohibit state and local police from enforcing federal immigration law themselves or helping ICE do so. The commissioner suggested complying with ICE detainers — requests to local jails to hold someone suspected of being in the country illegally.
The news took another turn Wednesday as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the Department of Justice to halt funding to sanctuary cities such as Portland. If that sounds familiar, it should. President Donald Trump tried to cut off law enforcement grants to Oregon in 2017. A federal judge in Eugene forbade Trump from withholding those funds two years later.
On Tuesday, Coos County Sheriff Gabe Fabrizio and District Attorney Jody Newby told the county board that violating the state’s “Sanctuary Promise” laws would put them at risk for loss of state funding and lawsuits, which wouldn’t be covered by the county’s insurance.
Fabrizio said the county’s law enforcement agencies could even be decertified.
“The state agency could come down and say, ‘Well, you’re guilty of kidnapping now because you don’t have the authority to pick that person up,’” he said.
ICE supporters say Oregon’s sanctuary laws are trumped by the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Speaking at the meeting, however, Coos County’s attorney said previous tests have found sanctuary laws legal under Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.
Sanctuary policy may be unpopular in coastal Coos County, where 58% of the county’s 35,000 voters picked Trump in November, but they remain the law of the land, said Commissioner Drew Farmer, explaining his vote to reject the proposal.
Farmer added that the county jail already operates at capacity, forcing the release of 15 people so far this year due to overcrowding.
“If you look at the jail roster, these are not folks you want in the community,” he said. “I’m not willing to exchange somebody that’s here working on a farm for a rapist.”
Farmer and County Chair John Sweet voted down the proposal, with Taylor the lone voice of support.
- Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive; you can reach him at zsparling@oregonian.com