Oregon Expands Dangerous Sanctuary Law

portland oregon sign

Legislative Update By: Shari Rendall

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.)