Thread: Oregon's chief justice urges feds to keep immigration agents out of courthouses

By Aimee Green
on April 07, 2017 at 4:46 PM, updated April 07, 2017 at 4:59 PM

The chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court wrote a letter Thursday to top leaders in the Trump administration, urging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop making arrests in and around Oregon's courthouses.

Chief Justice Thomas Balmer sent his letter to U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. Balmer states that immigration agents' "increasingly visible" practice of detaining suspects for possible deportation has had a "chilling effect" on immigrant communities, with some undocumented residents staying away from Oregon courts out of fear they'll be arrested.

"As I am sure you appreciate, the Oregon courts must be accessible to all members of the public," Balmer wrote. "The safety of individuals and families, the protection of economic and other rights, and the integrity of the criminal justice system all depend on individuals being willing and able to attend court proceedings..."

Balmer said immigration arrests in courthouses can discourage a wide swath of people from stepping foot inside: witnesses testifying in trials, domestic-violence victims seeking restraining orders, drivers paying traffic fines, landlords or tenants seeking or fighting evictions and neighbors hashing out disputes in small-claims court.

"The State of Oregon needs to encourage, not discourage, court appearances by parties and witnesses, regardless of their immigration status," Balmer wrote.

Balmer joins a growing list of judges and other leaders across the country who've called for an end to arrests at or near courthouses. Last month, the chief justices of the California and Washington state supreme courts wrote letters to Sessions and Kelly asking for a halt to the practice.

Sessions and Kelly wrote California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye a response on March 29, objecting to Cantil-Sakauye's description of immigration agents "stalking" undocumented residents in courthouses. They say the Trump administration will continue to allow arrests in courthouses, in part because some major cities and counties have refused to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and refused to allow agents to make arrests in their jails.

As a result, agents have sometimes turned to courthouses, where visitors have been screened for weapons and the risks of harm to agents is lower than in other public places.

In the letter written by Balmer, he asks that if the federal government is not willing to cease arrests in and around Oregon courthouses, that it treats courthouses as "sensitive locations." Immigration and Customs Enforcement currently designates schools, churches and hospitals as sensitive locations. Agents are generally supposed to avoid making arrests at those locations, unless they first get a supervisor's approval.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/i..._urges_fe.html

Oh good grief. What a silly judge. You want the DEA, ATF, Marshall's Service, FBI ... etc, etc., etc. out of your courthouses too? How about we just let Oregon set sail on its own without any federal law enforcement or federal money. I'm good with that. Buh Bye!

We're spending our money on useless stuff anyway. The environmentalists around here would whine if they didn't have federal participation. Our local government (as is the case on both coasts) walks lockstep with the ACLU. I wouldn't be surprised if this judge was part of it, too.