Grants Pass, Ore.-A lawsuit in Northern Oregon could end up impacting Josephine County. The lawsuit alleges that Northern Oregon Regional Correction Facilities are violating an Oregon state statute passed over 30 years ago.
That statute prohibits any use of public money, equipment, or personnel to find or apprehend people whose only legal violation is being in the U.S. unlawfully.
Similar to Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility, Josephine County Jail also houses ICE arrests.
And Josephine County’s legal team says that housing the ICE arrests doesn’t violate state statutes.
“Violating the immigration laws is by and large and a civil matter,” Josephine County Legal Counsel Wally Hicks explains, “The state of Oregon has said that you can’t use criminal enforcement resources for the point of enforcing federal civil laws.”
In essence, since Josephine County ICE arrests are for criminal charges and not for civil charges like being in Oregon illegally, Josephine County says that it’s abiding by Oregon state statutes when it houses people arrested by ICE.
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