Northwest
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Asylum seekers released from federal prison
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
SALEM — Eight of more
than 100 asylum seekers who
were locked up by the Trump
administration in a federal
prison in Oregon have been
released on bond, immigra-
tion lawyers said Wednesday.
The first man to be
released after being held in
the prison for almost three
months fell to his knees
on Monday and kissed the
ground after leaving the
building, said Katy Mitch-
ell of Innovation Law Lab
which represents dozens of
the detainees.
More detained immi-
grants are expected to be
released on bond in com-
ing days from the prison in
rural Sheridan, northwest of
Salem.
Lawyers, legal advocates,
interpreters and ordinary cit-
izens got involved to ensure
those who were brought
to the prison in May could
“exercise one of the most
basic rights the Constitution
allows, which is due pro-
cess,” said Victoria Bejarano
Muirhead of Innovation Law
Lab.
Most of the asylum seek-
ers say they faced risks in
their home countries, includ-
ing India, Nepal, Guatemala,
Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP
Asylum seeker Lovepreet Singh, who had been detained at the federal prison in Sheridan, speaks along with
interpreter Navneet Kaur, right, about his experiences in prison and relief at being released at the ACLU office in
Portland on Wednesday.
Mexico and China. All 79 of
Innovation Law Lab’s cli-
ents in the prison were found
in hearings to have a credi-
ble fear of returning home,
Bejarano Muirhead told a
news conference in Portland.
That’s one of the first steps
in a process in which they
could be granted asylum in
the United States.
One of those released this
week, Karandeep Singh from
India, said he was grate-
ful to be out of the prison,
BRIEFLY
Forecast for Pendleton Area
FRIDAY
TODAY
SATURDAY
Breezy with hazy
sunshine
Hazy, breezy and
not as warm
89° 57°
76° 49°
SUNDAY
Sunshine and
patchy clouds
MONDAY
A shower in the
afternoon
A passing
afternoon shower
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
77° 55°
75° 52°
74° 53°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
81° 53°
92° 58°
80° 57°
78° 55°
OREGON FORECAST
78° 53°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
65/56
84/51
90/52
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
89/60
Lewiston
71/56
92/59
Astoria
66/56
Pullman
Yakima 90/56
71/52
92/59
Portland
Hermiston
75/57
The Dalles 92/58
Salem
Corvallis
76/51
La Grande
Yesterday
Normals
Records
87/53
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
80/50
84/46
88/53
Ontario
93/63
Caldwell
Burns
90°
48°
86°
56°
103° (1946) 41° (1960)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
79/51
0.00"
0.03"
0.14"
5.13"
6.65"
6.06"
WINDS (in mph)
91/58
87/42
0.00"
Trace
0.30"
6.49"
11.37"
8.25"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 85/51
79/53
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
89/57
84/59
89°
57°
86°
56°
103° (1897) 37° (1904)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
70/53
Aberdeen
84/53
87/59
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
70/56
where detainees were held
in crowded cells with open
toilets.
“In the beginning, I had
no hope. Now I feel like it’s a
dream. I’m very happy to be
here,” Singh told reporters in
the news conference, which
was live-streamed.
A total of 124 immigrants
were brought to the prison in
late May after being detained
at the U.S. southern bor-
der. The men were among
approximately 1,600 immi-
grants transferred to federal
prisons in five states. Immi-
gration officials had run short
of space to hold people under
President Donald Trump’s
“zero tolerance” immigra-
tion policy.
The American Civil Lib-
erties Union of Oregon filed
an emergency lawsuit in June
on behalf of Innovation Law
Lab to force the government
to allow the detainees in
Sheridan access to lawyers.
After hearings determine
the asylum seekers have a
credible fear of being repa-
triated, they are eligible for
release while their asylum
applications are processed.
The bond amounts typically
run from $1,500 to $5,000
and are usually put up by
family or friends, Bejarano
Muirhead said. Not all can
afford it, though, she noted.
Those freed so far are
traveling to Georgia, New
York, Maryland and Califor-
nia, where they can pursue
their asylum applications.
Today
Medford
Boardman WSW 10-20
Pendleton WSW 10-20
89/55
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
85/43
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2018
Fri.
WSW 8-16
WSW 10-20
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
6:05 a.m.
7:50 p.m.
6:35 p.m.
3:15 a.m.
Full
Last
New
First
Aug 26
Sep 2
Sep 9
Sep 16
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 107° in Needles, Calif. Low 28° in West Yellowstone, Mont.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Earthquake, aftershock
reported off Oregon Coast
COOS BAY (AP) — An earthquake and
aftershock have been reported off the coast
of south-central Oregon.
The United States Geological Survey
says an initial quake with a preliminary
magnitude of 6.2 struck just after 1:30 a.m.,
more than 170 miles west of Coos Bay,
about 220 miles southwest of Portland.
Robert Sanders of the USGS says there
is no tsunami threat associated with the
quake. He says people as far away as Port-
land reported feeling the temblor.
Dispatch with the Coos Bay police says
there have been no reports of damage or
injury.
The quake was located at a depth of
about 6 miles. About two hours later, an
aftershock with a preliminary magnitude
of 3.5 struck the area.
Mayor: Oregon to get its
third In-N-Out Burger joint
SALEM (AP) — Oregon may soon get
its third In-N-Out Burger joint.
Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark told the
Statesman Journal Tuesday that the Cali-
fornia-based fast food restaurant will soon
open in her city, just 45 minutes from
Portland.
The company hasn’t set a date for the
opening.
In-N-Out representative Kori Seki says
Oregon is considered a new market for the
company.
In-N-Out has two locations in Oregon:
Grants Pass and Medford.
Seki met with the Keizer City Coun-
cil Monday to discuss the city’s sign code,
which conflicted with the restaurant’s sig-
nature palm tree awnings and signage.
Oregon agency continued
supporting solar company
PORTLAND (AP) — An Oregon
agency continued to financially back a
solar panel company despite its default on
loan repayments to the state.
The state gave $13.5 million in tax cred-
its, $10 million in direct financial assis-
tance and millions of dollars in tax breaks
to SoloPower Systems when it entered
Portland eight years ago, The Oregonian/
OregonLive reported Tuesday.
The company, which promised lighter,
thinner solar panels, shut down its factory
and laid off most of its employees in 2013.
It later stopped making payments on its
state loan.
The Oregon Secretary of State is ques-
tioning the state Department of Energy’s
decision to make rent payments on behalf
of the company, which had a “history of
loan default, forbearance, and restructur-
ing,” according to a recently released audit.
The company asked for help from the
state Department of Energy in paying its
rent last July, receiving nearly $642,000.
Auditors found no evidence that the depart-
ment received collateral or security for
those payments, and it did not consult an
independent expert, according to the audit.
“We had multiple discussions with
Goldman Sachs from August to October
2017,” agency spokeswoman Rachel Wray
said. “The investment would have made
SoloPower a ‘going concern,’ meaning it
could resume operations; we never saw
terms that involved the (state) loan being
paid in one fell swoop. Eventually that
conversation went quiet, the investment
didn’t go through, and we don’t have any
specific information about why.”
Following the rent payments, the
agency did consider giving more money to
the company. Agency officials approached
Gov. Kate Brown’s staff in Septem-
ber 2017 about an additional investment,
which Brown’s office rejected, said her
spokesman Chris Pair.
Ex-youth pastor attacked
during sex abuse plea
MEDFORD (AP) — A former youth
pastor was attacked by an unknown man in
the gallery in U.S. District Court in Med-
ford during his sentencing hearing on a sex
abuse charge.
The Mail Tribune reports Wednesday
that Donald Courtney Biggs was being sen-
tenced on a charge of transporting a minor
with intent to engage in criminal sexual
activity for filming a 14-year-old exiting a
shower on a church trip.
The newspaper says it isn’t immediately
clear if Biggs was injured.
Biggs pleaded guilty earlier this year
to one felony sex abuse count and federal
prosecutors dropped nine other charges.
He was indicted on the federal charges
in 2015 after Medford police launched an
initial investigation in late 2014.
Just before the attack, victims spoke
about how Biggs’ crimes had impacted
them.
Correction
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
cold front
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with Knight Transportation was in California.
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of Morrow Warehousing manager. He works under Mark Patton, the port’s assistant gen-
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