“Oregon’s sanctuary law was amended in 2021 (HB 3625) with new and internally contradictory provisions that created the current legal uncertainty,” a Marion County, Oregon, official said in a statement.
At least a dozen Oregon counties have signaled their support for a lawsuit seeking clarity on how the state’s sanctuary laws impact local governance and law enforcement.
According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, Marion County is currently spearheading a federal lawsuit against the state and federal governments. Earlier this week, the county asked others to sign a letter in support of its pending litigation, which asks the court to determine if Marion County should follow state or federal law on immigration.
“Legal uncertainty harms everyone and benefits no one,” the county wrote in its two-paragraph appeal. Since the letter’s issuance on Tuesday, a dozen counties have signaled their support, with more expected to join as the case makes it way through the court.
Oregon has the oldest state-level sanctuary laws in the country. The original law, enacted in 1987, prohibits police departments and sheriff’s offices from using local resources to enforce federal immigration laws; OPB notes that this statute was updated and strengthened in 2021.
However, under the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Justice has begun hurling threats against sanctuary states and cities, promising to slash federal funds to jurisdictions that don’t comply with the White House’s almost-always-controversial, occasionally unlawful, and arguably un-American immigration enforcement priorities.
In its lawsuit, Marion Country said that the Trump administration has issued a number of administrative subpoenas concerning incarcerated migrants convicted of certain violent offenses, including robbery, rape, and sexual abuse.
Marion County Counsel Steve Elzinga said that the county has not received this type of subpoena, which seeks “public records regarding individuals on parole for violent crimes,” since Oregon approved revisions to its sanctuary laws in 2021.
“Oregon’s sanctuary law was amended in 2021 (HB 3625) with new and internally contradictory provisions that created the current legal uncertainty,” Elzinga said in a statement.
Danielle Bethell, the chair of the Marion County Board of Commissioners, said that the lawsuit was filed with the intent of making sure that “the state won’t come after our community and sue us if we provide the requested records to the federal administration.”
Oregon Public Broadcasting notes that public campaign-finance records indicate that Bethell is currently preparing to run in next year’s Republican primary for governor.
Aside from the dozen counties already backing Bethell’s lawsuit, the Oregon State Sheriffs Association circulated a similar letter raising concerns about potential legal contradictions; that letter has so far been signed by 34 out of the state’s 36 sheriffs.
“We agree that there is a good deal of uncertainty in how these state and federal laws apply to local governments and Sheriff’s Offices in the State of Oregon, including those situations where a Sheriff’s Office or local government is served with administrative subpoena,” the letter says.
The state, in response, has pledged to defend its law—and said that, no matter what Marion County might say, Oregon’s sanctuary statutes don’t leave much room for uncertainty.
“If the federal government gets a judicial warrant, the state of Oregon will comply,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said. “An administrative subpoena is not a lawful judicial warrant.”
Sources
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