Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2019)
A3 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2019 ICE: ‘We always stand by the law’ Continued from Page A1 The detention was one of several in Oregon cited by civil liberties advocates at a rally in August in Washing- ton County calling for the end of ICE enforcement at courthouses. “I think it recognizes that there are times when it’s appropriate to take some- one into custody in the court- house and there are times when it is not appropriate,” said Judge Dawn McIntosh, who became presiding judge of the Clatsop County Cir- cuit Court after Brownhill’s retirement. “I think the chief justice struck a good balance on this one in terms of keep- ing our courthouses safe … and to use them and not inter- fering with the federal laws that are out there.” Following Zamora-Ro- driguez’s detention in July, Sheriff Tom Bergin called for more support of ICE’s efforts to detain people who are in the country illegally . “If that’s what the judge wants and that’s what the judge orders than that’s what we’ll do. W e always stand by the law,” Bergin said of the rule change. “We work within the confi nes of the legal system and that’s how we’re going to continue to do it.” ‘Sensitive locations’ Some in Congress, includ- ing U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, want to codify an ICE policy that limits arrests at “sensitive locations” like schools and hospitals into federal law. They also want to expand it to include courthouses. About 300 clergy leaders with the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice signed a letter in August asking Wal- ters to issue an emergency rule prohibiting ICE arrests at or near courthouses. According to the Oregon Judicial Department, Walters and the c hief j ustice of the Washington Supreme Court met with ICE representa- tives and the U. S. a ttorneys for Oregon and Washington state in October to discuss the reasons for immigration detentions in courthouses and potential court rules. ICE declined to add court- houses to their list of sensi- tive locations. In a statement , Tanya Roman, an ICE spokes- woman, said, “ICE ERO offi cers have been provided broad at-large arrest authority by Congress and may law- fully arrest removable aliens in courthouses, which is often necessitated by local policies that prevent law enforcement from cooperating with ICE efforts to arrange for safe and orderly transfer of custody in the setting of a state or county prison or jail and put political rhetoric before public safety.” ICE has said that enforce- ment actions inside court- houses can reduce safety risks to the public. “It is ironic that elected offi cials want to see policies in place to keep ICE out of courthouses, while caring lit- tle for laws enacted by Con- gress to keep criminal aliens out of our country,” Roman said. “Despite any attempts to prevent ICE offi cers from doing their jobs, ICE will continue to carry out its mis- sion to uphold public safety and enforce immigration law, and consider carefully whether to refer those who obstruct our lawful enforce- ment efforts for criminal prosecution.” ‘Simply a fi gment’ Roman said in an email that “Congress has estab- lished no process, require- ment, or expectation directing ICE to seek a judicial warrant from already overburdened federal courts before taking custody of an alien on civil immigration violations. “This idea is simply a fi g- ment created by those who wish to undermine immigra- tion enforcement and excuse the ill-conceived practices of sanctuary jurisdictions that put politics before public safety.” Katherine McDowell, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Ore- gon, said in a statement that “legal observers have repeat- edly witnessed ICE offi cers profi le, stalk and violently arrest community members in Oregon courthouses. “The courthouse rule stops these frightening prac- tices and ensures that every- one can seek justice in our courts.” Phillips: Invested in the community Continued from Page A1 and said he is the most qual- ifi ed person to oversee the project as s heriff. Spence called the new jail the county’s “crown project.” “Lt. Phillips has the character, the experience, to be qualifi ed as your next s heriff,” Spence said. “I unequivocally endorse him to be your next s heriff and Nicole Bales/The Astorian be elected next fall.” Raichl said he has known Lt. Matt Phillips with his wife, Bree, and their children. Phillips since he was a teen- ager when he came to work law enforcement locally is dants locked up before trial. at the s heriff’s o ffi ce as a the complexity of issues. Phillips said the program “They’re social issues has been wildly successful cadet. “I can’t say enough good that are interwoven with and “probably one of the about him,” Raichl said. other intersects in the com- most meaningful projects “He’s been an outstanding munity,” he said. “For I’ve ever worked on.” deputy and an outstanding example, I don’t believe Phillips began his career lieutenant jail commander.” all law enforcement issues as a deputy sheriff in 2001 Phillips said the support are only handled through and married his wife, Bree , from Raichl was especially enforcement of laws. Some the following year. He was meaningful. are public health issues that promoted to s ergeant in the “It is the way he ran busi- we need to work with those c riminal d ivision in 2011 ness at the s heriff’s offi ce ... partners to address before and became the jail com- I respect it so much it made they become legal issues.” mander in 2016. me think that maybe that’s He said it will require Phillips was born and something I would want to teamwork with all stake- raised in Clatsop County. do one day,” Phillips said. holders involved. He told His mother, Marcy Phillips, The American Federa- commissioners they can was a local councilor. His tion of State, County and help by supporting pro- father, David Phillips, who Municipal Employees grams and efforts that died in September, was the All North Coast Residents are Invited to Join Together! Local 2746 and Bergin had require state-level funding vice president at Clatsop A One-of-a-Kind Preparedness Event Coming this fall to Clatsop County also encouraged c ommis- like justice reinvestment Community College and sioners to appoint Phillips grants, which fund the pre- served on the Columbia to interim s heriff. trial release program. Memorial Hospital board Commissioners inter- Judge Paula Brownhill of trustees for 38 years. viewed Phillips during a ordered the pretrial release Phillips said he was work session on Nov. 7. policy in 2017 to reduce proud of his father and He told commissioners overcrowding in the jail like him, is invested in and the biggest challenge for and the number of defen- believes in the community. Friday, November 22 Liberty Theater (Astoria) Evening Session 6 - 8:00pm Real talk about earthquakes, preparedness and November culture with Friday, 22 TED x Evening Session Liberty speaker Steve Eberlein. Theater (Astoria) 6 - 8:00pm Saturday, November 23 Seaside Convention Center Saturday, November 23 Morning Session Morning Session 10:00 Convention - noon Seaside Center 10:00 noon Preparedness An earthquake story Planning Science Mitigation NO COST FOR ADMISSION This special event is made possible with contributions and coordination provided by these community preparedness partners: Practice For Information contact ClatsopEMD@co.clatsop.or.us A worker walks past a pile of recycling trash at the Pride Disposal dump site in Sherwood. Oregonians are recycling less while generating more waste, report says By KALE WILLIAMS The Oregonian The amount of trash Ore- gonians produce is going up, the rate of recycling is going down and the number of places willing to take our refuse is dwindling, accord- ing to a new report. All of that amounts to a worrying trend in the wrong direction, said Celeste Meif- fren-Swango, state direc- tor for Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center, which released “The State of Recycling In Oregon” report Thursday. “The reality is plastics are so hard to recycle and so low value that we could only consistently afford to collect and recycle it when China was willing to buy it,” she said in a statement. “Now we are left to deal with it ourselves, and plas- tic is choking our recycling system.” In 2017, the last year for which data was available, Oregon residents recycled just over 27% their waste and composted a little more than 9% . The combined rate of 36.6% seems good, more than a third of all waste being diverted from a landfi ll, but that number represents a 5% decrease from the amount diverted in 2014, according to the report. The lone standout from the dropping statistics is for containers covered by Oregon’s bottle bill, which increased the deposit for those containers from 5 cents to 10 cents in 2017. The report said recycling rates for those specifi c types of containers “increased signifi cantly.” While our recycling rates have been decreasing, the amount of refuse we pro- duce has been going up. In 2017, Oregon created more than 5.5 million tons of municipal waste, more than 7 pounds of trash per per- son per day, according to the report. That marks a 5% increase from 2016. And fewer places are willing to take on the bur- den of sorting through our recyclables, which are often commingled with materials that can’t be recycled. For years, countries in east Asia were willing to take huge shipments of waste from the United States. Once there is was sorted, and the unusable portion was often incinerated or ended up in a landfi ll, the report says. “Starting in early 2018, east Asian governments began banning, limiting or more heavily regulating carruthers U.S. recyclable exports,” the report says. “The era of globalized waste trade came to a sudden end and the U.S. was left to deal with its fl awed recycling system.” Since then, municipal governments have tried to make clear exactly what can and cannot be recycled, but, between September 2017 and May 2019, the state has approved 26 requests to dis- pose of recyclable mate- rials that recycling facili- ties didn’t have the capacity to handle, according to the report. The report did come with a number of recommenda- tions to fi x the downward slide, however, including expanding curbside recy- cling efforts, reducing the use of single-use plas- tics like bags and straws, and banning food waste from landfi lls to encourage composting. “It’s entirely within our power to fi x the system, but what is missing is the neces- sary sense of urgency,” said Alex Truelove, a co-author of the report. “Recycling, composting and waste reduction efforts will need to play an important role in the fi ght against micro- plastic pollution, climate change and other environ- mental challenges.” 1198 Commercial Street Astoria • 503.975.5305 Thanksgiving Buffet: All You Can Eat $35 adults • $17.50 Children 12 & under proteins TURKEY PRIME RIB SALMON sauces TURKEY GRAVY HORSERADISH & AU JUS CRANBERRY CHUTNEY GRUYERE MORNEY sides GARLIC ROSEMARY YUKON MASH CRIMINI SAGE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE TART CHERRY & SHALLOT STUFFING CREAMY PARMESAN RISSOTO FRESH GREENS SALAD desserts included Call for reservations, but walk-ins are welcome! 503.741.3443
