Federal Judge Says Oregon Counties Must Help ICE Locate Nine Noncitizens Despite Sanctuary Law Concern

Four Oregon counties must help immigration enforcement officers identify and locate nine noncitizens subject to detention or deportation under federal law, after U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane ruled that the counties must comply with administrative subpoenas issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Oregon Counties Must Comply With ICE Subpoenas

Four counties- Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, and Marion- that have control and custody of information regarding nine noncitizens and must turn it over to ICE after the agency filed a petition Oct. 1 seeking limited information and documents directly relevant to immigration enforcement involving the nine people.

Judge McShane said the information in the counties’ “custody and control” is directly relevant to the ICE investigations, and the request is “patently reasonable.”

The judge indicated that, under federal law, ICE can issue administrative subpoenas, but it must seek federal court approval to enforce them.

McShane found that Oregon law expressly allows a state law enforcement agency “to exchange information” with federal immigration authorities on criminal investigations, notwithstanding that the state sanctuary law prohibits state and local officials from using state resources to support federal immigration enforcement.

ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations issued the subpoenas after its agents failed to track down a group of people, referred to as “vulnerable to detention,” under several federal immigration laws. Federal investigators searched databases, compiled profiles for each person, and did extensive surveillance, but to no avail.

ICE officers then approached county offices, where county parole and probation officers supervised the nine people after each had served state prison sentences for felony convictions.

Three of the four counties declined to comply, citing Oregon’s sanctuary law, while Marion County filed a separate action seeking the court’s guidance.

The ICE subpoenas requested documents with home addresses during post-prison supervision, phone numbers at the time, work addresses, driver’s licenses, names of employers, country, place, and date of birth, emergency contact number, bail or bond records, and other information that would assist ICE in identifying and locating the individuals and in detaining them.

All four counties must now comply, but the ruling applies only to the subpoenas Judge McShane examined in this case.