Almost every Oregon sheriff supports a recent Marion County lawsuit which is asking a federal court to decide if the county can release information about people on parole in response to administrative subpoenas from immigration authorities.

Thirty four of Oregon’s 36 county sheriffs signed a letter supporting the lawsuit against federal agencies and Gov. Tina Kotek, which asks a judge to weigh in on what the county described as conflicts between the state’s sanctuary law, public records law and federal law.

The Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association sent the letter to the county Wednesday, according to a statement from Marion County. 

“We agree that there is a good deal of uncertainty in how these state and federal laws apply to local governments and sheriff’s offices in the state of Oregon, including those situations where a sheriff’s office or local government is served with an administrative subpoena,” the Oregon State Sheriffs Association letter said.

Sheriffs from Multnomah and Washington counties were the only Oregon sheriffs who did not sign the letter.

The county filed the lawsuit in Eugene U.S. District Court Aug. 18 regarding federal requests for information about people on county parole supervision.

The suit followed four administrative subpoenas U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Aug. 1 for information about people on parole for offenses including rape, sexual abuse and kidnapping, according to the lawsuit.

The four people are alleged to be undocumented immigrants, a county statement said last week.

READ IT: Marion County lawsuit over immigration subpoenas

ICE requested each person’s home address, phone number, driver’s license number, country of origin, employer and information about the crimes they were convicted of.

Oregon’s sanctuary law prevents agencies from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement or sharing information about someone in their custody unless ordered to do so by a judge.

Government agencies can only cooperate with court-ordered subpoenas, and not administrative ones, like the subpoenas Marion County received.

Sanctuary law allows agencies to share public information with immigration authorities, but it bars sharing a person’s address, workplace, school or contact information unless other laws require it.

The county’s lawsuit claims that while state law restricts responding to subpoenas, federal law requires cooperation with federal subpoenas.

READ IT: Letter of support from Oregon sheriffs

The association asked Marion County to request a detailed ruling from a federal judge that addresses all local agencies to help “ensure they are properly following federal, state and local laws.”

“Uncertainty from conflicting laws is bad for everyone,” Steve Elzinga, legal counsel for Marion County, said in a statement Thursday. “Marion County seeks legal clarity that will benefit all Oregonians, especially the dedicated law enforcement officers across our state who work hard to keep us safe and are currently stuck in the middle of conflicting state and federal laws.”

Since the county filed its lawsuit, local Democrats have denounced it.

“Despite four decades of legal precedent, through seven presidential administrations, Marion County taxpayers foot the bill for this disingenuous legal dispute in an attempt to reshape Oregon’s laws,” the Democratic Party of Marion County said on Facebook.

The group launched an effort to send letters to the Marion County Commission opposing the lawsuit. So far, over 600 letters have been sent online.

A consulting agency founded by former state Rep. Teresa Alonso Leon, a Woodburn Democrat, also posted a statement opposing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit could make a “loophole” allowing ICE administrative subpoenas to be treated like court-ordered ones, the agency said, and would “pretty much kill the sanctuary law.”

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Marion County asks federal judge to decide if it can share parolee information with ICE

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

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