Marion County is asking a federal court to determine whether it should follow state or federal law when it comes to immigration enforcement.
The case could resolve a long-simmering tension that has placed some in local law enforcement and other public employees in the position of feeling they have to decide which law to follow and which law to ignore.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, the county’s leaders asked whether they must follow Oregon’s decades-old sanctuary law that prohibits local and state resources from being used to enforce federal immigration law — or comply with an administrative subpoena issued this month by agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that sought information about four individuals on parole.
“Records responsive to the subpoenas are public records that would be available to any person who makes a public records request,” the county noted in the lawsuit filed against Gov. Tina Kotek, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons.
On Aug. 1, an officer with ICE sent five immigration enforcement subpoenas to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Unlike a judicial warrant, where a neutral third party determines whether there is probable cause for an arrest or charges in a criminal case, these administrative warrants are requests for information signed by immigration officers.
The subpoenas ICE sent to Marion County requested information about four people convicted of crimes that range from rape and sexual abuse to robbery and kidnapping. Two of those individuals are registered sex offenders, according to the county’s lawsuit. The identity of a fifth person ICE requested information about was unclear, the county noted.
The subpoenas requested information, including each person’s address, phone number, birth records, driver’s license number, employer’s address while on parole and information about bail.
“Marion County has gathered records responsive to the federal subpoenas,” the county’s lawsuit states. “Marion County is prepared to either provide or withhold the requested records based on what the Court determines the law requires.”
In a statement, Danielle Bethell, chair of the Marion County Board of Commissioners, said the county reached out to both federal and state officials to get clarity, but the legal path still remains uncertain.
“Obviously we want to keep dangerous people out of our community and off of our streets,” Bethell said in a statement late Monday. “We also want to make sure the state won’t come after our community and sue us if we provide the requested records to the federal administration.”
State campaign finance records indicate that Bethell is preparing to run in next year’s Republican primary for governor, setting up a possible 2026 match-up with Kotek, a Democrat, who is widely expected to run for reelection.
A spokesperson for the governor declined to comment on Marion County’s lawsuit because the litigation is pending.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said his office would defend the state’s law blocking cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
“Our state’s sanctuary law has coexisted with 7 presidential administrations, including the first Trump administration,” Rayfield said in statement Monday. “Despite the fact that a federal court in Oregon has already upheld our sanctuary law, this lawsuit comes as no surprise. Marion County is entitled to seek clarity through the courts. It is my responsibility to defend our laws and that is what I intend to do.”
Last week, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to sanctuary jurisdictions across the county — including Oregon and the city of Portland — warning they could lose federal funds or face criminal penalties if they don’t cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement.
OPB’s Dirk VanderHart contributed reporting.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.