East Oregonian Page 11A
OFF PAGE ONE
CAPITOL: Legislature will hire outside
ICE says Oregon officers showed
‘great restraint’ in videoed incidents consultant to examine its personnel policies
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Continued from 1A
By RYAN HAAS
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Federal
immigration
officials responded Thursday
to
Oregon
lawmakers
concerned about a pair of
attempted arrests that took
place in recent months.
The letter from U.S.
Immigration and Customs
Enforcement
Assistant
Director Raymond Kovacic
came in response from
concerns lodged by Oregon
Reps. Suzanne Bonamici
and Earl Blumenauer.
Both
Portland-area
Democrats said they were
concerned about two inci-
dents involving ICE agents:
a Sept. 18 interaction outside
a Washington County court-
house and an Oct. 20 arrest
inside a Portland area home.
Bonamici and Blume-
nauer said it appeared in
videos that ICE officers
failed to identify themselves
or procure proper warrants.
The lawmakers expressed
concern the potential viola-
tion of constitutional rights
could “undermine public
confidence in the integrity of
the agency.”
In his letter Thursday,
Kovacic defended the ICE
agents involved and said
they followed agency policy.
“Any recording that failed
to capture the beginning of
the encounter when officer
self-identification took place
should not be relied upon,”
the assistant director wrote.
In video of the Sept.
18 incident in Washington
County, several plainclothes
agents approach Isidro
Andrade-Tafolla, who is
Latino and a longtime county
employee.
The agents repeatedly ask
Andrade-Tafolla for iden-
tification while comparing
him to a picture on their
cellphones.
Bystanders
ask
the
agents for identification,
but they refuse and insist
AP Photo/LM Otero
In this photo made Thursday, March 6, 2015, U.S. Im-
migration and Customs Enforcement agents enter an
apartment complex during an early morning operation
in Dallas. Portland-area Democrats said they were con-
cerned about two incidents in Oregon involving ICE
agents.
Andrade-Tafolla is the
person in the picture. When
another ICE agent arrives
on the scene and realizes the
Forest Grove resident is not
the person they are looking
for, the group quickly leaves.
Kovacic wrote that the
video doesn’t show the whole
encounter but “does serve to
illustrate the hostile environ-
ment that ICE officers must
confront every day.”
“In spite of being verbally
abused, ICE officers demon-
strated great restraint and
professionalism throughout
the encounter,” he wrote.
Kovacic also said the
officers did not target
Andrade-Tafolla based upon
his ethnicity.
“Though we appreciate
ICE acknowledging our
letter, the response is highly
contradictory,”
Bonamici
and Blumenauer wrote. “If
the two Oregon incidents are
under review, how can ICE
also conclude that officers
followed all policies and
procedures?”
Kovacic does not directly
respond
to
questions
surrounding the Oct. 20
arrest of Carlos Bolanos,
who was later released
without charge.
In that encounter, the
person filming the video —
George Cardenas — repeat-
edly asks the ICE agents why
they are in the home without
a warrant, a seeming viola-
tion of Fourth Amendment
protections.
The Democrats wrote
that Oregonians are “deeply
concerned by these aggres-
sive actions,”and that ICE
should be held accountable if
there was wrongdoing.
Kovacic said ICE agents
are up-to-date on constitu-
tional rights.
“ICE officers participate
in mandatory bi-annual
Fourth
Amendment
training,” wrote Kovacic,
“as well as refresher training
prior to participating in large-
scale enforcement actions.”
The ACLU of Oregon
called
ICE’s
letter
“alarming.”
“It suggests that they are
not prepared to do anything
differently or take account-
ability for these violations,”
ACLU of Oregon Legal
Director Mat dos Santos said
in a statement.
“They
have
not
even apologized to Mr.
Andrade-Tafolla and his
wife for unfairly profiling,
detaining, and questioning
them over a month ago.”
unwanted advances. About
150 women signed the Cali-
fornia letter.
Circulation of the Oregon
letter follows accusations
by Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Cor-
vallis, and another unnamed
female senator earlier this
month that Sen. Jeff Kruse,
R-Roseburg,
repeatedly
inappropriately
touched
them. Kruse has denied the
allegations to at least two
Oregon newspapers.
Gelser’s revelation has
sparked other women who
work at the Oregon Capitol
to come forward with other
instances of subtle sexism
and harassment, as reported
Wednesday by Oregon
Public Broadcasting.
The letter urges lawmakers
and others at the Capitol “to
create a culture where it is
expected that people (both
men and women) will speak
up when it is happening in
front of them, and ensure that
it is safe to report it when it
happens in private.”
The Legislature will
hire an outside consultant
to examine its personnel
policies, the House Majority
office confirmed Friday.
Women who signed the
letter include existing and
former Democrat and Repub-
lican lawmakers, legislative
staffers and lobbyists.
“Changing the culture of
any institution starts at the top
and that’s ultimately what this
letter is about,” Williamson
said. “We are committed,
as a bipartisan group, to
improving the culture of the
Capitol and ensuring that it is
a positive work environment
for everyone. That starts by
ensuring individuals feel
empowered to come forward
with issues. This isn’t about
politics – it’s about making
this institution better.”
Rep. Julie Parrish, who
signed the letter, said she
hopes the letter sparks
dialogue about incidents that
have stayed largely private
until now.
“Oregon has a larger
segment of elected women
than other states — and
in recent years, we have
seen an uptick in female
lobbyists, but politics is still
a male-driven industry,” said
Parrish, a Republican from
West Linn.
A reminder to respect
boundaries is “a good check
for everybody,” she said.
“Every woman’s threshold
for what she thinks is appro-
priate or inappropriate is
going to be different, but hey,
if she says no, back off, listen
to her. She means it.”
Senate President Peter
Courtney, D-Salem, imposed
“unprecedented” sanctions
against Kruse Oct. 20, in
response to the allegations
that Kruse continued to touch
Seattle judge blocks states’ challenge to travel ban
SEATTLE (AP) — A
federal judge in Seattle has
put on hold a challenge by
Washington and several
other states to the Trump
administration’s
latest
travel ban.
U.S. District Judge
James Robart, who blocked
the initial ban on travelers
from several predominantly
Muslim nations early this
year, noted in his decision
Friday that the latest
iteration has already been
blocked by federal courts in
Hawaii and Maryland.
Because the issues raised
there are similar to the
ones raised by Washington,
Oregon, Maryland, Massa-
chusetts, New York and
California in the Seattle case,
he said those challenges
should play out before the
Seattle case proceeds.
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the two senators after he was
asked not to. As punishment
for that and for Kruse’s habit
of smoking inside the Capitol
building, Courtney ordered
the removal of Kruse’s office
door and stripped him of
his committee assignments,
which weakens his power
to influence legislation. The
door was removed early
Friday.
Gelser first hinted at the
allegations in a tweet in
which she asked a Repub-
lican Senate aide if he would
ensure members of his caucus
don’t inappropriately touch
or grope female lawmakers
or staff in the Capitol.
Gelser made an informal
complaint that Kruse had
touched her inappropriately
in March 2016. At that
time, Courtney followed
protocol and reported the
allegation to Legislative
Counsel Dexter Johnson
and Employee Services
Manager Lore Christopher.
Johnson and Christopher
told Kruse to stop touching
women at work, Courtney’s
letter stated. Gelser told
The Oregonian that Kruse’s
behavior didn’t stop.
Courtney
also
has
reported the latest accusa-
tions by Gelser and the other
female senator to Legislative
Counsel and Employee
Services, and those offices
are conducting a fact-finding
inquiry.
For additional information contact
Blue Mountain Community College
at 541-278-5969
For more information, call 1-800-962-2819
2x3 EXAMPLE
Celebrate your loved ones in our
VETERANS DAY TRIBUTE
We are so
proud of you
for serving
your country.
Free Example:
Honoring those who have served
and those who are currently serving
our country!
They’ve served our country with
courage and honor. They’ve left
behind loved ones to risk their
lives while protecting our country.
They’ve defended our freedoms
and ideals. They make us proud to
be Americans. Help us honor them.
SALUTE E
1x4 EXAMPLE
Love
Evelyn,
We are
so
Joe
proud and
of you
Cheryl
for
serving
J OSEPH S MITH
your country.
J OSEPH B. D AVIS
Staff Sergeant
Joel Davis
US Marines
Veteran
This special section will print in the Hermiston Herald on Nov. 8 and
in the East Oregonian on Nov. 11, 2017. There is NO CHARGE to
be included. Bring us or send in photos of servicemen, servicewomen
or veterans, along with the information in the form to the right, by
November 2.
Thank you for
your service!
Love Evelyn,
Joe and
Cheryl
If you’d like to purchase a larger space to
include a special message, border, flags, or stars
and stripes, rates are $40 for a 1x4” space or $55
for a 2x3” space. Private party only.
Please call 1-800-962-2819.
Love always
Marcy, Julie &
Emily
Service Person’s Name
Military Branch
Your Name
Your Address
Your Phone Number
Military Rank
Currently Serving Veteran (Check One)
Deliver to:
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