Marion County on Wednesday released records that officials had withheld from federal immigration authorities over concerns they would be violating state law.

The county hasn’t complied with subpoenas from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August seeking the same documents and information on four men serving parole on local charges.

Marion County officials instead filed a federal lawsuit Aug. 18, asking a court to rule on whether the county could provide that information to ICE. County officials asked a judge to resolve what they say are conflicts between Oregon’s sanctuary law, federal law and Oregon’s public records law.

The county in public statements maintained that the records would ordinarily be disclosed in response to a public records request. Responding to such a request, Steve Elzinga, Marion County legal counsel, released to Salem Reporter documents sought by immigration officials.

The records included identifiable information about the four men, including their home addresses, phone numbers and employers. ICE sought that information through administrative subpoenas delivered Aug. 1 to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

The release of documents to the news organization underscores the county’s position that such information about people on parole is a public record which could be sought or obtained by anyone who files a request.

Oregon’s sanctuary law generally prohibits law enforcement agencies from providing information about people to immigration authorities for civil immigration enforcement, unless they receive a subpoena signed by a judge. The law also allows the county to provide information to federal immigration authorities “to the extent that the information is available to the general public and under the same terms and conditions as the information is available to the general public.”

Marion County filed the federal suit to get guidance, naming as defendants Gov. Tina Kotek, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons. Kotek and the federal defendants have not filed a response.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield has said he will defend the state’s sanctuary law, but his public statements to date on the case have focused on the county’s claims of conflict between federal and state law.

“The Ninth Circuit has already weighed in, previously ruling that there is no conflict between Oregon’s sanctuary law and federal law,” Rayfield said in a statement Sept. 4. “Oregon’s sanctuary law is longstanding and has coexisted under seven presidential administrations. The federal government, state, and local communities have a shared interest in keeping our communities safe. That’s why Oregon’s sanctuary law allows the federal government to seek a judicial warrant to carry out its public safety objectives under federal law.”

Rayfield has not publicly addressed the public records aspect of the suit. The county’s lawsuit explicitly asks a federal court to determine whether the state’s public records law allows or requires the county to release information to ICE.

In response to questions from Salem Reporter about whether the laws conflict and whether Marion County could release the same records to ICE, Jenny Hansson, Rayfield’s spokeswoman, wrote, “Because this matter involves a local public body located in Marion County, the Marion County District Attorney, not the Attorney General, would have jurisdiction to make a ruling on this issue.”

Records show ICE requested documentation of personal information and bail records for five men the agency said were on parole for crimes including rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping and theft. The subpoenas were signed by a special agent of ICE, not a judge.

The agency asked the county to respond by Aug. 18. The fifth subpoena was rescinded by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Aug. 27 due to “discrepancies in biographical information,” an email said.

READ IT: Marion County lawsuit over immigration subpoenas

Salem Reporter filed a public records request with Marion County Sept. 18 for the information ICE requested in its administrative subpoenas and received the records Wednesday morning without exemptions or redactions. The county did not charge Salem Reporter a fee for the information.

The records concern men who range in age from early 40s to mid-50s. All were listed as being born in Mexico in county records. The federal subpoenas and county records have no information listed about citizenship or immigration status.

Javier Pena-Duran, 54, pleaded guilty in Marion County Circuit Court to rape and sexual abuse in 2008, and in a separate 2016 case to sexual abuse of a minor. He was released from prison in October 2022, court and county records show. He was scheduled to be on county parole until July 2026. In its subpoena, ICE sought information about a man with the same name, birth month and day, but listed a different birth year.

Adair Omar Ruiz-Hernandez, 41, pleaded guilty in 2013 to robbery and kidnapping, court records show. He was released from prison in January 2023 and scheduled to remain on parole until January 2026.

Cresencio Ramirez-Cisneros, 45, pleaded guilty in 2016 to two counts of sexual abuse of a minor under age 14. He was released from prison in April 2022 and is scheduled to remain on parole supervision until January 2026.

A Marion County jury found Hermino Martinez-Sanchez, 48, guilty of three counts of rape of a child under 12 and two counts of sexual abuse. He was convicted in 2009, released from prison in March 2022 and will remain on county parole until November 2033.

Elzinga said Wednesday the county has not provided information to ICE in response to the subpoenas.

The lawsuit has garnered significant local and statewide interest, with nearly every sheriff in Oregon and other counties signing on in support, saying they also want clarification on the law.

Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor in 2026, has said she supports keeping “dangerous people out of our community and off our streets,” according to an August press release.

Protesters on Sept. 3 packed a Marion County commissioners’ meeting to accuse officials of trying to weaken Oregon’s sanctuary law with their lawsuit.

Managing Editor Rachel Alexander contributed reporting.

This story was updated at 3:30 p.m. to add a comment from Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s office.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

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

Nearly all Oregon sheriffs support Marion County’s suit for clarity on ICE cooperation

Protesters accuse Marion County commissioners of trying to weaken sanctuary law through ICE lawsuit

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

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