The Oregon Illegal Immigration assistance toolkit

In 14 days, Donald J Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. This event is looked upon by the Oregon Democrats with trepidation. Gov Kotek held a closed door meeting last month to discuss Oregon's options in resisting the the Trump administration. Attorney General Dan Rayfield has convened a committee to advise him on resisting the policies of the Trump administration. The Oregon Dept of Justice has created a "toolkit" to assist illegal aliens in avoiding deportation.

Why would Oregon's top elected officials take these actions? The simple answer is power. There are by some estimates 200,000 illegal aliens in Oregon. These people were counted under the last census and the result was a 6th congressional seat for Oregon. That seat is now held by Janelle Bynum (D). Oregon democrats hold overall 5 of 6 congressional seats in Oregon. By allowing unfettered illegal immigration into the country, democrats have increased their presence in congress. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) suggested that there were about 16.8 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. as of June 2023. Given that each congressional district represents approximately 761,168 people, some calculations have suggested that this could roughly equate to about 22 seats in the House. With enough illegal immigration focused on adding population to democrat controlled states the balance of power in congress could be permanently shifted to favor the democrats.

The balance of power in congress is not only one reason why democrats are protecting illegal aliens. Another reason is that immigration is big business. The Dept of Homeland Security (thru FEMA) allocated 770 million to migration NGOs. the largest migration NGO Catholic Charities received 1.4 billion from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which is part of Dept of  Health and Human Services. In addition, ORR dispersed an additional 275 million to other migration NGO's. Then there is the State Dept and USAID which dispersed a separate 1.4 billion. This brings the total acknowledged direct US funding of migration NGO's to over 3.8 billion dollars in 2023 alone. Additional funding comes from the UN and other sources.

Many of these migration NGO's support the democrat party and it's policies. This creates a natural partnership.

This is why the democrats are concerned about mass deportation.

All of the above mentioned facts provides background to the Oregon Sanctuary State immigration toolkit.

Oregon is a Sanctuary State. What exactly does that mean?

According to the Oregon DOJ website: Oregon's sanctuary status means that state and local government, including police, cannot help enforce federal immigration laws without an order signed by a judge.

On the surface this appears to be true. However as you dig into the statute, it is less obvious that state, county or local agencies are restricted by this law.

First off, Oregon sanctuary laws do not stop federal authorities from deporting aliens. This is true as state law does not have the authority to overrule federal law in immigration matters.

Additionally, Oregon law does not have the power to affect federal immigration policy. This is reflected in the DHS policy to not apprehend criminal aliens in certain locations. This policy can be changed at anytime by DHS.

Should a government organization assist federal immigration authorities, Oregon has setup a hotline and online reporting structure for Oregonians to report that agency to the Oregon DOJ. However the Oregon DOJ can only inquire in the alleged violation if it has the permission of the individuals targeted by the inquiry. The Oregon DOJ under the sanctuary laws does not has investigation or enforcement powers. As a matter of fact, the Oregon DOJ investigator cannot make any finding of law. The Oregon DOJ Sanctuary investigator does not have the ability to determine a "violation" or "no violation".

So what does the Oregon DOJ investigator do under the sanctuary laws? The Oregon DOJ investigator writes a report. This report may be used in a civil lawsuit against the reported agency. Assuming the the targeted individuals agree to be investigated. That's it. A report.

This sanctuary law has real consequences. Last month an 86-year-old man was allegedly stabbed by a 31-year-old illegal alien in an attempted car jacking. This illegal alien has an extensive criminal history in Oregon. The Oregon sanctuary laws protect criminal like this.

There have been several lawsuits brought under the sanctuary laws.

A civil lawsuit was brought against the City of Cottage Grove and a lane county judge ruled that the city must follow the Sanctuary laws but did not find the city in violation of the laws. This ruling only applies to publicly funded times and facilities.

Under Federal law it is illegal to conceal, harbor or shield persons subject to removal under US immigration law. This puts the ruling and Oregon's sanctuary laws squarely in violation of Federal law. It is also illegal to force state, county or local employees to violate federal law.

These sanctuary laws like Oregon's have not been tested in federal court. I strongly suspect that when they are, the sanctuary laws will be declared unconstitutional.

The Oregon DOJ Immigration Toolkit

ICE Hotline