The House passes a bill to extend privacy measures to all public bodies, including local agencies
A bill aimed at further protecting undocumented immigrants in Oregon had its first legislative hearing June 8.
While its introduction comes late in the legislative session, its outlook is promising. On Tuesday the House passed the bill 35-23, sending it to the Senate for its first reading Wednesday. The bill is backed by the governor and attorney general and enjoys strong support from immigrants rights groups and the agriculture sector.
Under House Bill 3464, all public bodies in the state would be prohibited from sharing a person’s personal information with federal agencies for the sole purpose of immigration enforcement.
This expansion of sanctuary protections would include courthouses, public health facilities, public shelters, public schools and other city- and county-run agencies.
The bill follows widespread reports of immigrants avoiding public places and government facilities out of fear that they will be detained and deported under the broader immigration enforcement priorities of the Trump administration.
Multnomah County Circuit Court Presiding Judge Nan Waller said that while the Oregon Department of Justice is not taking a position on the bill, it is imperative that Oregon maintains the neutrality of its courts.
“Since the executive order on deportation was signed in late January, we’ve had consistent reports from lawyers, community organizations, victims advocates and public inquiries to the court that some members of our community are afraid to come to our courthouses,” Waller told the House Committee on Rules.
“It would indeed be hard to measure how many people have not come to the court for a restraining order, how many people have not shown up to testify in a case, how many people have let their matter go and been defaulted,” she said.
Personal information the bill would protect includes the time and location of appointments the person has with the public body, the person’s address and phone number, workplace and work hours, school, names of friends and family and other information that is not a matter of public record.
While public testimony from some citizens opposed to the bill claimed otherwise, the bill indicates it would not prevent public bodies from complying with federal immigration authorities as federal laws require.
Additionally, the bill would not prevent immigration enforcement officials from entering public buildings, such as courthouses, or from obtaining publicly available information about court appearances.
Under Oregon’s sanctuary status, law enforcement agencies have been prohibited for 30 years from using their resources to assist with the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
On Feb. 2, Gov. Kate Brown issued an executive order that added all state-run agencies to the list of public bodies forbidden to assist federal immigration officials in locating or apprehending undocumented immigrants.
This bill, filed May 31 on Brown and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s behalf, extends this prohibition to include all public bodies including those on local levels of government.
Reps. Teresa Alonso Leon (D-Woodburn) and Diego Hernandez (D-Portland) filed the bill and testified in its favor before the House Committee on Rules.
At the hearing, Alonso Leon said residents of her district, documented and undocumented alike, live in fear of apprehension based on the color of their skin and language skills.
“We know ICE commonly asks public bodies for information that they are not required to disclose,” she said, of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “This bill protects from federal overreach.”
Rosenblum told the committee her office has been inundated with phone calls from mayors, school districts and courthouses asking what information the law requires they share with federal agencies.
The bill would instruct her office to publish “model policies” that would give public bodies clear instruction to refer to when interacting with immigration enforcement.
These guidelines would bring consistency to the way public bodies in Oregon protect privacy and provide public employees with a recommended course of action that complies with federal and state laws.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, current law only allows it to provide legal advice to state officers, agencies and legislators. This bill would extend that authority to provide guidance to local government and others as well.
This bill, Rosenblum said, “makes clear where federal law ends and privacy begins.”
Carmen Rubio, executive director of Latino Network, testified that many immigrants fear sharing personal information with her advocacy organization. She said with the passage of this bill, she could tell her members that Oregon has taken steps to protect their privacy.
The bill, she said, is “a vital step toward building trust with the community.”
Oregon Winegrowers Association and Oregon Association of Nurseries testified that labor shortages in their industries are only exacerbated by increasing fears among immigrant communities. They, along with Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers, support the bill, saying they hope it will also give their members clarification on how to legally comply with ICE when officials show up at their farms and orchards.
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The bill received opposition from the Washington County Republican Party, Oregonians for Immigration Reform and a handful of mostly retired private citizens.
Those testifying against the bill cited unfounded fears that its passage would lead to increases in drug trafficking, terrorism and other crimes because it would make the state more attractive to undocumented immigrants.
Studies by the CATO Institute and the National Bureau of Economic Research have concluded immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States.
Cynthia Kendoll, president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, testified she was concerned about the illegal activities of undocumented immigrants, and she included in her examples that they drive illegally.
She did not mention, however, that her organization led the charge to defeat Measure 88, which would have given undocumented immigrants the ability to obtain driver’s cards.
According to its website, her organization is collecting sponsor signatures for an initiative called “Stop Oregon Sanctuaries” with the intent of getting a measure to repeal Oregon’s sanctuary law onto the November 2018 ballot.
Email staff writer Emily Green at emily@streetroots.org. Follow her on Twitter @GreenWrites.
