Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2020)
A3 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2020 Emails detail ICE arrests at courthouses Chief justice asked judges for data By JAKE THOMAS Oregon Capital Bureau U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents made arrests in or near 10 of Oregon’s 27 circuit courts, according to state records obtained by Salem Reporter. The records, released under a public records request, shed light on the scope of ICE’s increased activity in Oregon courthouses, which has become a source of con- tention between state and federal offi cials. After Pres- ident Donald Trump took offi ce in 2017, ICE signifi - cantly increased its presence in courthouses, arresting indi- viduals suspected to be in the country illegally. Civil rights advocates and members of the legal com- munity have complained that the arrests have had a chill- ing effect on immigrant com- munities’ willingness to par- ticipate in legal proceedings. In November, Martha Wal- ters, Oregon Supreme Court chief justice, joined a hand- ful of other states in enacting a rule restricting ICE’s ability to make courthouse arrests. The newly disclosed emails shed light on the scope of ICE arrests in Oregon courthouses — or at least how aware state judges have been. Walters emailed the state’s presiding C ircuit C ourt judges last March asking if they were aware of ICE arrests in their courthouses. She also asked about the frequency of arrests, as well as where in the court- house they occurred and if ICE agents notifi ed court security staff. Months later, 10 judges responded that ICE had made arrests in or near their courts. Most of the reported arrests occurred in Oregon’s more populated areas, includ- ing Multnomah, Marion and Washington counties. Judges overseeing courts serving large swaths of rural Oregon reported no arrests. The Oregon Judicial Department didn’t respond to written questions about the matter. Federal offi cials have issued confrontational state- ments in response to Oregon enacting the rule. But ear- lier correspondence between federal and state offi cials was diplomatic and even deferential. Courthouse arrests Some judges wrote to Walters that they consulted with court staff, the sher- iff’s offi ce or defense attor- neys about ICE arrests. Most judges gave short responses or didn’t list the number of arrests or offer a time frame. Others gave more detailed answers on ICE’s activities, describing how agents wore plainclothes and don’t coordi- nate with security staff. In April, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Ste- phen Bushong and court staff reported 16 incidents in or near the Portland courthouse involving ICE, including an instance when ICE arrested a defendant outside a state court hearing. Marion County Circuit Judge Tracy Prall responded that at the criminal court’s annex ICE agents had been observed in the gallery of courtrooms, but they made one arrest in the parking lot and another in the county’s juvenile facility. Prall also wrote that ICE agents identifi ed themselves as “DHS” employees to gain access to juveniles in deten- tion. As a result, staff believed that ICE agents were with the state Department of Human Services rather than the fed- eral Department of Homeland Security, she wrote. Washington County Cir- cuit Judge Charlie Bailey said he was aware of two ICE arrests and that there was likely more. He told of one instance where agents strug- gled to arrest a man. “The ICE incident was very disruptive to court pro- ceedings and placed mem- bers of the public, staff, and (a judge) in an unsafe situation,” he wrote. Circuit C ourt judges for Clatsop and Clackamas coun- ties both responded that there had been multiple arrests but didn’t offer specifi c numbers. The Astorian reported on an ICE detention at the Clatsop County Courthouse in July that involved what appeared to be pepper spray. The news- paper also documented an ICE detention near the court- house in December 2018. Lane County reported four defendants arrested by ICE, Tillamook County listed three. Yamhill County reported one federal immigra- tion arrest. In Wasco County, a British citizen was arrested. Nadia Dahab, an attor- ney with the Innovation Law Lab who approached Walters about imposing a prohibition, said that the records likely don’t tell the whole story. In 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ore- gon obtained ICE records through a Freedom of Infor- mation Act request that showed that the agency had made “intrusions” in 11 C ir- cuit C ourt districts. ‘IT WOULD NOT SURPRISE ME IF COURTHOUSE ARRESTS WERE EXECUTED BUT THE PRESIDING JUDGE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THEM.’ Nadia Dahab | an attorney with the Innovation Law Lab She recalled one inci- dent where a lawyer’s client suddenly disappeared from court and later called from an immigration detention center. The client had been arrested by ICE. “It would not surprise me if courthouse arrests were executed but the presid- ing judge didn’t know about them,” she said. Back and forth In April 2017, Thomas Balmer, then Supreme Court chief justice, wrote then- U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and then-Secre- tary of Homeland Security John Kelly asking them to stop federal law enforcement agencies, including ICE, from making arrests in or near Ore- gon courthouses. “ICE’s increasingly vis- ible practice of arresting or detaining individuals in or near courthouses for possi- ble violations of immigra- tion laws is developing into a strong deterrent to access to the courts for many Oregon residents,” he wrote. Balmer said that he rec- Nicole Bales/The Astorian Immigrant rights advocates have protested federal immigration arrests at county courthouses. ognized the legal author- ity of ICE and other federal law enforcement agencies and that the Oregon Judicial Department would not hin- der or help them. He asked that the agencies add court- houses to Homeland Secu- rity’s list of “sensitive loca- tions,” such as churches, hospitals and schools, where law enforcement is limited from intrusions. State records show no response from the C abi- net offi cials. Walters reiter- ated Balmer’s concerns in an email last June to Bryan Wil- cox, ICE acting fi eld offi ce director. She said that the courthouse arrests had an “adverse effect on the admin- istration of justice.” She wrote that ICE agents usually wear plainclothes, don’t always identify them- selves and created confusion by refusing to produce war- rants or other documentation. Walters cited one ICE arrest where the commotion outside a courtroom where criminal proceedings were underway was so loud that the trial judge had to order security to investigate, leav- ing the courtroom unsecured. Walters also reported that one court employee observed ICE agents stopping numerous people as they left a court- room and another mistaking one individual for a suspect. In July, Wilcox replied to Walters that courthouses “have historically been an option of last resort” for ICE. He said the agency has relied on local law enforce- ment to transfer “criminal aliens” from local custody to ICE. But he referenced Ore- gon laws that limit local law enforcement cooperation with ICE. “As a result, ICE is com- pelled to carry out its legal mandate to locate and arrest these criminal aliens wher- ever they can be found,” he wrote. The next month, Walters hinted that she might act after a state attorney sent materi- als from a national judicial conference about ICE con- duct, sending it to Oregon U.S. Attorney Bill Williams. The email cited a directive in New York that prohibited ICE arrests in state courthouses. In October, Walters and Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst wrote to Williams, as well as U.S. attorneys for Wash- ington, saying they had not received an explanation for why courthouse arrests out- weighed “our critical interest in the administration of jus- tice at our courthouses.” Noting that they were both considering rules aimed at restricting ICE courthouse arrests, they asked for more data on arrests and the danger posed by those arrested. Arrests continue? While awaiting a response from federal offi cials, Wal- ters in November imposed the new Oregon rule that required law enforcement agencies seeking arrests in a courthouse to have a war- rant issued by a judge. ICE relies on administrative war- rants, which are not issued by a judge. She soon heard from U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, calling the new rule “misguided.” Barr and Wolf wrote that Oregon’s rule would place “our communities at unac- ceptable risk” and that federal agents weren’t subject to it. To date, though, there have been no more ICE arrests reported at courthouses, according to Dahab. She said, however, that in December, a man who was riding in a car leaving the Marion County Circuit Court parking lot was pulled over by ICE. He was arrested, she said. The Oregon Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group, Pamplin Media Group and Salem Reporter. NOW OPEN! Warrenton Branch 1771 SE Ensign Ln. Our beautiful Warrenton Branch is now open! When you’re in Clatsop County, stop by to experience relaxing Oregon Coast décor or hop on our free Wi-Fi. In the coming months, Red Leaf Organic Coffee will open a coffee bar inside the branch to offer you tasty coffee and treats during business hours. We’re sure you’ll feel right at home in our Warrenton branch and we look forward to welcoming you through our doors. For special Warrenton-only new member offers, visit www.tlcfcu.org/warrenton-offers tlcfcu.org 503.842.7523 • 866.901.3521 85 W. Marine Dr. Astoria 2315 N. Roosevelt Dr. Seaside /ILikeTLC/ Federally Insured by NCUA A DIVISION OF C REDIT UNION LEARN SOMETHING NEW WITH CCC COMMUNITY ED. SAILING! WED | JAN 15 WEDs | JAN 22-29 WED | FEB 5 Sailing: Harness the Wind | $20 Sailing: All About Sailboats | $25 Sailing: Reading a Nautical Chart | $20 5:30 – 8:30 pm South County Center Room 2/3 5:30 – 7:30 pm Lexington Campus Towler Hall, Room 308 5:30 – 8:30 pm Lexington Campus Towler Hall, Room 308 To register, call (503) 338-2411or go to clatsopcc.edu/schedule Clatsop Community College is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution. ADA accessible. For the complete Non-Discrimination and Accomodations statements, please visit https://www.clatsopcc.edu/ada. Clatsop Community College es una institución de igualdad de oportunidades y de discriminación positiva. Para las declaraciones completas de No-discriminacion y de Ayuda a las personas discapacitadas, por favor visite https://www.clatsopcc.edu/ada. WE DID IT - AGAIN! We were recently reaccredited on more than 900 standards of verterinary excellence. We’re proud to call ourselves an AAHA-accredited hospital. On December 3rd, 2019 Bayshore Animal Hospital had its AAHA [American Animal Hospital Association] inspection and we PASSED AGAIN. Bayshore Animal Hospital has been an accredited hospital since 2003. 18 years of Excellence 325 SE MARLIN AVENUE WARRENTON • 503-861-1621 www.bayshoreanimalcare.com
