Senator Bonham: Oregon doubles down on sanctuary state status

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By Oregon State Senate Republican Leader,

As blue states double down on “Trump-proofing” their state – there has been a lot of grandstanding on sanctuary state statuses. The fallacy of sanctuary states is what they truly mean – it means that you do not have to tell law enforcement your immigration status (during an arrest) and prohibits law enforcement from partnering with federal agencies in a criminal case.  

Real talk. Our law enforcement is not and will not become immigration officers. The fear-mongering fallacy is that officers will now go into schools, workplaces and churches to ask people their immigration status. That is not our local law enforcement’s role. 

Our law enforcement’s role is to respond to crimes committed, and then work with the district attorney to find a just way to keep the community safe. Period. 

So, if you peel back the rhetoric, the only time sanctuary state laws truly kick in is when someone commits a crime – many times, horrendous crimes. 

For example, our friendly neighbors in California had an issue with a “sanctuary status” pedophile being released back to the streets, since there was no legal mechanism to separate him from society. He then fled to another state, putting more children at risk. When presented a bill to remove pedophiles from sanctuary state status, the state rejected it. 

These pandering and dangerous policy decisions not only put our residents at risk – they further divide the country on this issue – putting us farther and farther from coming together to find permanent solutions to this problem.