Breaking ICE

Oregon Lawmakers just have two more weeks to pass legislation addressing ICE actions.

First Amendment Troop “The ResistDance”

I think I have watched the above film perhaps twenty times in the last two days. A 90 second dance depicting the murders of Nicole Renee Good and Alex Pretti. It is staged in front of the Lincoln Memorial, and it cuts to the heart of the grief I feel not just for the loss of those two young people, but for the violation of our Constitution, and to truth and justice.

Which is why this week, the third of a five week session, I watched with great interest as Oregon lawmakers worked with haste to move several bills aimed at what House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, called the “gross and chaotic overreach” of President Trump’s federal deportation policies.

In response to this overreach a slate of at least 13 bills have been introduced. Here are a few that appear to have a good chance of passing before the end of session.

On Tuesday this week, HB 4079 passed the House Floor with a 35-22 vote. The measure mandates school districts and institutes of higher learning create policies that will help students and teachers feel safer from deportation activities within the school or campus than they do today. When President Trump came into office last year he repealed Department of Homeland Security rules preventing ICE and other federal agents from entering “sensitive areas” such as schools, churches and hospitals.

Since then, “When rumors of nearby ICE activity surface,” Representative Paul Evans (D-Dallas), testified before the House chamber, “students leave school and are often too scared to return.” Evans teaches at Chemeketa Community College where just over one-third of students identify as Hispanic or Latinx. HB 4079 would require that school districts and institutes of higher education designate staff to determine if officers or agents have warrants to enter school property and then would notify students and parents of ICE’s presence.

Another bill that moved forward this week is HB 4091 which prohibits out-of-state militia or national guard from being deployed in Oregon without Governor approval. It also directs the Oregon National Guard to focus its role on helping the state during emergencies as stipulated in federal law.

Representative Shannon Isadore (D-Portland), a Marine Corps veteran, told the House Rules Committee that the bill “Draws an important line that many of us in uniform are well aware of and that is that the National Guard is a military force, not a substitute for civilian law or immigration enforcement.”

This issue came to a head when in October last year, President Trump deployed 200 Oregon National guards to protect the Portland ICE facility from what he described in the media as a “war zone.” His deployment was enjoined by US District Court Judge Karin Immergut (a Trump appointee). In her 106 page opinion she concluded that “even giving great deference to the President’s determination, the President did not have a lawful basis to federalize the National Guard.” And in another win for the courts, the federal government earlier this month backed off its attempt to appeal.

Another bill I followed was, HB 4114, It would allow individuals to sue law enforcement should they force entry into a home showing no proper warrant or cause. Opponents of the bill used hypothetical analogies to argue that the measure could impact public safety, should say, a police officer hear a something dubious in a house and enter without a warrant. “You might have some rich bullies suing the police!” Representative Kevin Mannix argued on the house floor. His musing, however, did not carry the weight of the real stories of warrantless and often violent entrees that are occurring in Oregon and throughout the country by ICE. The bill passed the House and has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Lastly, there is the mask issue. Many states are passing laws requiring officers to be stripped of their masks and wear identification including name and badge number. The Oregon resolution would apply to all local, state and federal law enforcement, including ICE and it’s expected to move out of committee for a vote. If adopted by both chambers, SJR 203 would move on for voter approval in November. In a floor speech on the bill, Rep Ricki Ruiz (D-Portland) told lawmakers the measure is about accountability. “If they are doing their job legally and ethically, they should not be afraid to show their face. Not doing so is immoral, it is dangerous and it is wrong.”

Representative Darin Harbick, R- East Lane County told committee members that what he finds immoral are ICE agents being doxed (having their names and private information published) for doing their jobs. “These are people who have family, they have kids who go to school right here with yours.” The resolution passed out of the Judiciary Committee but has not yet been scheduled for another vote.

I will keep you posted on any movement on these and other bills. Next week I plan to focus on the push to build AI data centers in Oregon and what that could mean for our economy and our environment.