Immigrants held in The Dalles jail staged hunger strike

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Immigrants in a jail serving four counties in Oregon recently held a hunger strike over “horrible” conditions, say activists who allege officials are breaking state law by holding people for federal immigration authorities.

The U.S. Customs and Enforcement Agency pays the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Facility, or NORCOR, to hold detainees, according to a NORCOR budget document.

A 1987 Oregon law prohibits law enforcement officers from detaining people who are in the U.S. illegally but have not broken other laws. Gov. Kate Brown in February ordered all state agencies to follow the policy. Her office declined to comment on whether NORCOR might be violating the law.

Gorge ICE Resistance, a coalition of groups in the Columbia River Gorge, said Friday that immigrants at the jail staged a six-day hunger strike.