City of Ashland Responds to the ICE Situation

This appeared in Ashland.news here.

The events of the past several months on the streets of Portland and Minneapolis, and the administration’s response, have been profoundly disturbing to all of us who care deeply about the values our nation is built upon and understand the attack those values are facing under this administration. Many of us are in a state of shock – staring down current events that we could scarcely have imagined just a year ago.

But Americans from all walks of life are resisting this lawless behavior with unity and nonviolence. People of integrity across the political spectrum are stepping forward and speaking out in defense of our Constitution and the rule of law. I am both heartened and inspired by the courage I see from everyday Oregonians and Minnesotans and the response of local law enforcement in both cities as they work with limited tools to address the federal government’s violent overreach in their cities.  

Ashlanders have been reaching out asking what the City of Ashland is doing to respond and prepare for the possibility of ICE’s arrival in our businesses and neighborhoods.

Context

First, it is important to remember some of the legal limitations local government has in relation to the federal government. Unfortunately, this is a somewhat gray area – and one we haven’t visited often in our history.

The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution generally prohibits local interference with federal agents acting within their scope of duty. When ICE agents perform immigration raids, they are doing so under the authority of the federal government. Usually, that puts them out of reach of state or local police.

However, legal protection for federal agents is not absolute. Federal agents can face arrest and prosecution if they commit crimes under state law that fall outside their official duties. Examples include excessive force, assault, and other criminal acts that are not related to their work enforcing federal laws. Arrests like these are historically very rare.

This leaves local police departments in a new, complex, and challenging situation where there are very few circumstances where they are legally able to intervene, and not much precedent to point to that shows what happens next if they do.

Here in Ashland

Within that context, we have been tracking this situation at the City of Ashland for many months now and preparing for future possible encounters between Ashland residents and ICE. Specifically:

·         City staff understand their obligations to protect residents’ data, and they know what to do if approached by an ICE agent.

·         Our police chief and city attorney are working within their professional networks to stay abreast of and contribute to discussions about what local law enforcement should do in some of these very challenging situations.

·         The City has posted a variety of immigration enforcement related resources on its website.

·         Council and staff leadership have discussed how to respond to a range of possible scenarios and will determine the best way forward if the need arises.

·         I reached out to Mayor Wilson of Portland immediately after he and other metro mayors sent a joint letter last September rejecting any attempt to federally militarize the Portland metro area and announcing coordinated regional action to protect civil rights, public safety, and community trust. I let him know that Ashland stands with Portland and I am available to assist if he needs help from other mayors across the state.

·         I recently joined Governor Kotek and thirty other Oregon mayors in sending this letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, and Border Czar, Tom Homan, demanding that they halt ICE operations in Oregon until all use-of-force allegations by federal officers are investigated and any agents found guilty are held accountable.

·         I am closely monitoring (and supporting where I can) Oregon’s Attorney General, Dan Rayfield, who has developed the Civil Rights Unit Sanctuary Promise Community Toolkit to provide information Oregonians need to understand, report, and combat violations of our state’s Sanctuary Promise Laws.

Beyond Ashland

In the bigger picture, I have been coordinating with concerned mayors and other elected leaders. At the National League of Cities’ (NLC’s) annual meeting last November, I voted on behalf of Ashland to support a petition to include advocating for specific limits on ICE behavior in sensitive areas, like hospitals and schools, within NLC’s policy platform.

I also publicly urged NLC’s Board of Directors to develop a toolkit for local governments facing the legal challenges seen in Minneapolis and Portland.  This toolkit would help local leaders understand the legal framework within which we are working on this issue, and share innovative, effective, legal responses currently in use by local governments across the country.

I am involved in efforts to develop policy platforms in local government associations at the state and national level. My specific focus in those arenas is countering the administration’s attacks on the Constitution and rule of law.

Finally, I am working with a group of concerned elected leaders in Oregon on ways to effectively lend our unified voice to state and federal initiatives. More on that soon.

Keeping Perspective

As we move through these dark days, we must separate the actions of local law enforcement from what we are seeing from ICE. Over the last several years on Council, I have seen the field of local law enforcement take a hard look at itself and important reforms have been put in place. Law enforcement organizations are speaking out about the situation with ICE. I am proud of the work our Ashland Police Department does, and the efforts Chief O’Meara and his team consistently undertake to ensure that all people are treated lawfully and with dignity in their interactions with our officers.

Moving Forward

We must acknowledge that this situation is fluid and unpredictable. But our commitment to the Constitution and rule of law is unwavering. From this foundation, we will sustain and strengthen government systems that honor our shared values and serve Americans in the modern world. All of this requires that we remain unified, maintain steadfast solidarity with other patriots across the political spectrum, and allow our love of country to power nonviolent, effective resistance. For me, this work is how I keep my oath of office.

As we make our way through these unprecedented times, there is one primary pressure point we have to address this situation and the many other attacks on our Constitution and the rule of law. Congress has both the duty and authority to force this administration to stay within the bounds of the law, and our Congressional Representative, Cliff Bentz, has particular power in that conversation.  

Please contact Representative Bentz and remind him that his oath of office requires that he  defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic, and that means ensuring that ICE protects the constitutional rights of all people in enforcing federal immigration laws. Our Constitution requires nothing less.