Street R o o ts *
Feb. 3-9, 2017
News
does is expand on our state law that
prohibits state and local law enforcement
from using personnel and resources to
enforce federal immigration laws. The
concept being floated in Eugene is to extend
a local commitment of non-entanglement
with ICE and immigration enforcement to
not just law enforcement but to all city
employees. That seems like a step in the
right direction. There is hope that the
governor will sign an executive order to
make a similar extension of non
entanglement to all state employees. We
hope that happens.
But we need to acknowledge that these
laws have not yet been put to the test.
Things are moving quickly. Lqcal and state
government will need to be honest about
the limitations and effectiveness of a range’
of efforts, and be willing to push our current
thinking and practice.
E.G.: What advice can the ACLU of Oregon
offer to non-citizens and Muslims living in the
Oregon at this time? Are there ways they can
be protecting themselves?
D. R.: First of all let me say, if you or
someone you know has a family member
who will be arriving soon from Iraq, Syria,
Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan or Yemen at
Portland International Airport, or who was
detained already by Customs pursuant to
President Trump’s Executive Order, please
call the ACLU of Oregon at 971-412-2258 or
email us at info@aclu-or.org.
We have a Know Your Rights resource
sp ec ific a lly to a d d r e s s d is c rim in a tio n a g a in s t
W hat the AC LU o f Oregon is doing to defend
im m igrants against Trum p’s executive orders
BY EMILY GREEN
STAFF W R ITE R
M s President Donald Trump’s executive
orders fly out of the White House at
I Van exhausting rate, many are looking
o the American Civil Liberties Union as the
nost obvious line of defense.
The organization has received
inprecedented donations since the election,
vith $24 million pouring in online over this
jast weekend - and it’s already begun filing
awsuits against the Trump administration.
Street Roots wanted to know how the
national ACLU was working with its state
affiliates, if Oregon’s elected leaders could
be doing more to protect immigrants, and
what role our state affiliate was going to be
playing in the coming months.
Here are the questions we asked ACLU oi
Oregon Executive Director David Rogers
along with his written responses.
Z\
Emily Green: Standing in solidarity with
immigrants and refugees while condemning
Trump’s policies is a nice gesture, but it seems
largely symbolic. What actions could Oregon s
stateofficials and elected leaders be taking that
would provide some real concrete protection for
non-citizens living in Oregon?
David Rogers: This is an important
question. We have been concerned about
Page 7
and staff will engage. I know Sheriff Reese
has launched an investigation. We appreciate
that. We need law enforcement officials to
engage in the hard work of ensuring their
message is delivered to their staff. It will be
the actions of law enforcement staff who are
working in our communities on a daily basis
that will make all the difference, for better
or for worse.
And let me be clear about the problem
with ICE profiling people in the courthouse
and making arrests of people with
citizenship documentation. If people are
afraid to go to the courthouse, we no longer
have a functioning public safely system. If
defendants who have not been convicted of
a crime, witnesses, or victims no longer see
the courthouse as safe, then they will stay
away. This means victims may continue to
be in danger, defendants could be doubly
punished for not showing up at court, and
people will be less likely to engage law
enforcement when there is a problem.
There is a trust in our system that needs to
be in place for a society to work and for
everyone to be safe. Trump is trying to
destroy that and we can’t allow it to happen.
E.G.: Could county officials legally stop
ICE from entering the jails and courthouse
completely if they wanted tot
D. R.: We don’t think ICE can be barred
from those locations. Courthouses are
public buildings. But we certainly think
more can be done. The King County
Courthouse in Washington has a policy
a g a in s t IC E m a k in g a r r e s ts in c o u r th o u s e ,
Muslims living in America and those
perceived to be Muslim. This isn’t intended
to be legal advice but it has very practical,
helpful information. .You can find it online.
It’s called Know Your Rights: What to do
when faced with anti-Muslim discrimination.
hipl^ings. We would lil<e tP„sgp Multnomah
County build onlhatexam ple. It impossible
that ICE staff could be required to sign in
and make themselves visible rather than
being undercover. We need a sense of
urgency and initiative right now.
E. G.: What can Multnomah County
officials do to protect non-citizen immigrants
who utilize their programs, including those
who are currently under the supervision of the
Department of Community Justice?
E. G.: Is there any legal precedent for a state
to refuse to follow the federal government’s
’ orders?
whether the “sanctuary ordinances” being
passed in cities and counties around Oregon
will make a meaningful difference. We need
D.R.: This is a big question and we are
a range of responses to the hatefuLpolicy
trying to outline a number of Strategies that
attacks coming from the Trump
county officials can take. We are working
administration on immigrants and refugees.
with groups like Oregon Justice Resource
There is definitely room for purely symbolic
Center, Metropolitan Public Defender and
actions. We need to show visible signs of
others, who are rolling up their sleeves to
resistance and demonstrate that we have a
figure this out.
fundamentally different set of values in
There will be a range of ideas and
Oregon. We are part of the global
proposals to highlight soon. But as an
community and our diversity gives us
example, law enforcement officials - like
strength. We won’t thrive as a state without
police chiefs and our district attorney -
being inclusive and welcoming.
should be-seriously looking at how they
That said, we also don’t want to provide
handle low-level offenses. They need to
an unrealistic sense of protection to people
identify what offenses can be handled with
and families who are actually in harm’s way.
simple citations rather than arrests and
It is important for us to be clear about what
criminal court. Putting people in contact
actions are symbolic and which provide
with the criminal justice system for low-level
practical’ and tangible protections.
offenses increases the likelihood those
We are at an interesting moment in time
people will be taken by ICE.
in that it is too early to tell to what degree
We also need to have our law
sanctuary ordinances have a practical and
enforcement officials provide more thorough
useful impact Things are happening so
communication with their staff about what
quickly and we have yet to put them to the
their expectations are around non
te s t The recent reports about ICE activity
engagement with ICE. There have been
and arrests in our county courthouses may
reports that a sheriff deputy reached out to
present our first tangible opportunity to see
ICE in January in a way that led to one ICE
if county leaders are willing to step in with
arrest If that happened, it conflicts with
real interventions.
Oregon law and directly contradicts the
Advocates have been helping to craft an
message that Sheriff (Mike) Reese has
intriguing ordinance in the city of Eugene.
expressed to the public about how his office
The city has yet to vote on it, but what it
D. R.: The history of the United States is
full of examples of states refusing to follow
federal government orders. In many ways,
our country was set up so that states could
flex their independence from federal
authority. And these conflicts are often
resolved in the courts..
E. G.: We’ve heard a lot in recent days about
the legal work the National ACLU is focused
on, in terms of challenging White House
policies. How is the National ACLU
coordinating with its state chapters at this
time? And what role will the ACLU of Oregon
be playing in the coming weeks and months?
D.R.: There are high levels of
communication between ACLU nationally
and state ACLU affiliates. We are sharing
strategies, information, legal templates and
resources. There is an incredible amount of
collective wisdom and we can replicate and
further evolve needed responses.
For example, we are building on legal
work regarding Trump’s Muslim ban. We
have been working in partnership with the
Immigrant Rights Law Group to file a suit
* here in Oregon against President Trump on
behalf of Unite Oregon. United Oregon’s
membership base is largely made up of
See ROGERS, page 13