Measure 105 backer, Deschutes DA spar on KTVZ debate

A supporter and foe of Measure 105, the repeal of Oregon’s “sanctuary state” law, painted vastly different views of the impact it would have during a half-hour debate broadcast Tuesday night on NewsChannel 21 and livestreamed on KTVZ.COM.

Richard LaMountain, former vice president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, said repealing the 31-year-old law would let police and sheriff’s deputies make communities safer by informing federal immigration officials when they find what he referred to as “illegal” or “criminal aliens,” but the Measure 105 opponent, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel, called “undocumented immigrants.”

Oregon’s sanctuary state law forbids local law enforcement from finding and apprehending people solely for being suspected of being in the country illegally, with only a few exceptions, such as also being suspected of breaking other laws or with a federal arrest warrant in place.

The state law, LaMountain said, “undermines respect for U.S. law, by telling illegal aliens that Oregonians feel the law is so inconsequential” that it won’t be enforced, and “handcuffs police and sheriffs whose primarily responsibility is to protect against crime.”

He cited a U.S. Treasury department statistic of 1.3 million cases of ID crime by illegal aliens between 2011 and 2016, and a Portland case where an illegal alien deported several times was released under the law and later assaulted two women.

LaMountain also quoted U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams as saying that “enforcing immigration law should be central to the duty” of law enforcement.

But Hummel said anyone in Deschutes County should feel comfortable coming forward to report a crime without fear of being deported, if they haven’t broken any other laws. Otherwise, he said, violent criminals can go free and victimize the community again.

The DA said the sanctuary law “says law enforcement should focus first and foremost on enforcing criminal law. We should not be acting like immigration agents.”

LaMountain called opponents’ claim that illegal immigrants won’t report crimes a “can’t see the forest for the trees” response.

“There are vastly more illegal aliens who have committed crimes, compared to those who are victims of crimes,” he said, going on to ask, “Can anyone tell me a single instance where someone was deported for reporting a crime?”

Even if they do have that fear, he said, there are anonymous tip lines already in place to report crimes. He also noted that Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson is among 18 sheriffs in support of the sanctuary state repeal.

Asked point-blank by moderator Lee Anderson if Measure 105 is “a racist measure,” LaMountain answered with a flat no: “This measure targets no one on the basis of race. It seeks to hold people accountable for entering the country illegally.”

“The racial profiling argument is the reddest of red herrings,” he said, noting the recent passage of two state laws that ban profiling strictly on the basis of race and mandate anti-profiling training for law enforcement.

“The contention that it would unleash a wave of profiling or make law enforcement another arm of President Trump’s deportation force – this is just a fear tactic, don’t believe it,” LaMountain told viewers.

Hummel mocked that response: “I’m glad to hear Oregon has solved the racial profiling problem! We could go on the road to other states and say racial profiling never happens here! It never happens — at all! That’s pretty great, but it’s absurd.”

“The vast majority of officers will not profile, but profiling happens, despite our best intentions,” he said. “This is a protection against it.”

“I’m not saying Richard is racist – we just met,” Hummel added. “I’m not saying this is a racist measure. I’m saying it will have racial consequences.”

Hummel also scoffed at the idea that Measure 105’s passage wouldn’t prove costly, in one way or another – by forcing higher taxes to pay for local law enforcement of federal immigration laws, or by cutting into the time officers and deputies have to investigate and solve crimes, from murder to sexual assault. (The ballot language calls the financial impact of the measure “indeterminate.”)

“Voters have to pick their poison,” he said. “Something’s got to give – either taxes go through the roof for more staff, or you’re going to do less of the work we’re doing now. That’s going to make the community less safe. It would be a crying shame.”

But LaMountain painted a more benign picture of Measure 105’s impact.

“Oregon law enforcement would detect and detain some illegal aliens they haven’t before,” he said. On a routine traffic stop, for example, or a domestic violence call, they might have a “plausible, reasonable suspicion someone is in the country illegally.”

“It can’t turn on race, but other criteria, such as furtive, evasive behavior, a flight from authorities or an inability to provide ID and a home address. They could then ask” if someone is a U.S. citizen.

“Reasonable suspicion is not the assumption of guilt, and is not violating Fourth Amendment rights,” LaMountain said.

In his closing statement, Hummel painted a picture of a 22-year-old Terrebonne woman, the mother of two, who works on a farm, doing work many Americans won’t — in the country without documentation, but otherwise law-abiding.

“Life is hard, but generally good – with one exception. Your husband beats you on a daily basis. You endure it, until he does it in front of the kids. You’re ready to call 911,” but someone “tells you local police report suspected undocumented immigrants to federal authorities.”

“I want this woman to feel safe enough to make this call, so me and my deputies can bring this abuser to justice, protect all of us and remove this dangerous person from the streets.” He urged a no vote on the measure, “for the safety of our community.”

But LaMountain said, “When it comes to enforcing laws, Oregon should not be able to choose which federal laws it will or will not help with enforcement of” – a comment that could make some viewers think of the continuing conflict over marijuana, which Oregon voters legalized but remains illegal at the federal level.

The sanctuary state law “legitimizes those violations” of federal immigration law, he said. “Our state is not an island unto itself. It’s a part of and has a responsibility to the nation.”