Washington County Sheriff's Office changes immigration detainer policy following federal decision in Clackamas County case

By Andrea Castillo | acastillo@oregonian.com

Washington County Sheriff's Office will no longer hold most suspected undocumented immigrants for deportation.

The Washington County decision follows a local federal judge's ruling April 11 that Clackamas County violated a woman's constitutional rights by holding her for immigration authorities without probable cause.

Previously, Washington County held all undocumented inmates requested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agency requests that some immigrants be held for deportation after their original booking charges have been cleared.

Washington County Sheriff's Office officials re-evaluated that policy on Monday, said Spokesman Sgt. Vance Stimler.

"We will not be placing any detainers on anybody for immigration," he said. "(But) if they provide a court order or warrant we would, because that would have a judicial review."

The sheriff's office will continue to notify ICE of foreign-born detainees, Stimler said. However, instead of notifying the agency of each individual, he said, the sheriff's office will just send a daily roster from now on.

Stimler said it's still too early to know how other sheriff's offices around the state are reacting to the Clackamas County decision. But, he said, "it's our understanding that it's a discussion that will be had amongst the sheriffs."

We'll have more on the Clackamas County case later. Meanwhile, here's what Oregon Law Center Attorney David Henretty said about it in a news release:

...Magistrate Judge Janice Stewart, U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, ruled that Clackamas County is liable to Maria Miranda-Olivares for violating her Constitutional rights. The Court’s decision is based on the County’s practice of holding people at its jail after its lawful custody on the state charges has ended, based only on a request from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Court stated that the County’s practice violated Ms. Miranda-Olivares’ Fourth Amendment rights by continuing to incarcerate her without probable cause both after she was eligible for pre-trial release upon posting bail and after her release from state charges.

The Court also stated that these requests from ICE, commonly referred to as “immigration detainers” or “ICE holds,” do not require the County to hold people.

Ms. Miranda-Olivares filed her lawsuit against Clackamas County for unlawfully holding her at its jail for two weeks in March 2012.

The Court granted her motion for summary judgment on the ground that prolonging her incarceration violated her rights under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. There will be a trial on the amount of her damages.

David Henretty, of the Oregon Law Center and attorney for the plaintiff, said, “This case makes clear that if a county decides to hold a person beyond lawful custody on the state charges, that extended incarceration must satisfy the requirements of the Fourth Amendment. The presence of a request from ICE to prolong the incarceration does not overcome this fundamental right.”
The Oregon Law Center is a non-profit legal aid organization whose mission is to achieve justice for the low-income communities of Oregon.

http://www.oregonlive.com/hillsboro/...fs_off_13.html