NORCOR Ends ICE Contract, Activists Petition For Greater Accountability to Spirit of Sanctuary State Law
Pictured: Gorge ICE Resistance gathered on the steps of Wasco County Courthouse. Photo Credit: Gorge ICE Resistance
The NORCOR Board of Directors voted unanimously on Friday, Aug. 20th, 2020, to discontinue housing immigration detainees for the Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) due to a decrease in profitability. But what started as a celebration on behalf of activists who worked for years to get to this moment may be only one step in a bigger battle.
NORCOR’s board of directors stated that the decision came “as a result of the overall number of in-custody episodes which has declined over the past year, decreasing the reliance on ICE revenue.” The jail’s contract with ICE brought in more than $800,000 for the facility in previous years but was expected to bring in only $268,000 in 2020/2021. The NORCOR Management Team stated that it will “initiate the steps within contractual requirements to terminate the housing agreements.”
The decision came with no statement of apology, leaving a bad taste in many mouths. In 2017 a group of Wasco County taxpayers filed a lawsuit against NORCOR, arguing that their contract with ICE was in violation of the state’s sanctuary law. Oregon has been a sanctuary state since 1987. The law was passed to limit local and state police from enforcing federal immigration policies.
In 2019, OPB reported extensively on the ruling, saying Wasco County Circuit Judge John Wolf ruled that the jail was not in violation of the law because ICE detainees “have been apprehended, arrested or seized by ICE prior to arriving at NORCOR”. It noted that local and state authorities were not the ones apprehending and arresting people but that ICE themselves would be making the detentions.
OregonLive.com also reported that Judge John Wolf had ruled that NORCOR had violated Oregon law when they actively participated in the apprehension of detainees by reporting the scheduled release of inmates to ICE. The law specifically prohibits the use of state resources to detain someone based on an alleged immigration violation. Judge Wolf “also ruled that the jail could not hold inmates for ICE beyond the time that they would face for their criminal charge.” But it was reported that at least one inmate had been held beyond his release date for ICE.
“Yet, the Judge did not nullify the NORCOR’s contract with ICE,” reported OregonLive.com
Rosie Strange of Gorge ICE Resistance, “Breaking the ICE” Contract. Contributed photo.
I spoke with Roise Strange and Amber Rose of Gorge ICE Resistance, after the announcement that NORCOR was ending the contract was made.
“After the ruling, we continued to push for an end to the ICE contract,” said Rosie Strange, Gorge ICE Resistance Organizer. She wasn’t the only one, activists continued to protest and attend meetings long after the ruling came, which makes this announcement a hard-won battle. “Everybody wants to do anti-racism work, until they realize how long the work is,” said Rosie Strange. “It takes time.”
“It was such a shock. After all these years - I can’t even remember what it was like not to have this (an end to the ICE contract) as a goal in my life,” said Amber Rose. “I’m so grateful to everyone who’s been on this journey with us.”
“As a BIPOC person in this community it feels amazing,” said Strange. “We’ve removed an oppressive layer from our gorge community; it won’t fix everything, but it’s an important stepping stone in our journey. I’m so grateful to everyone who’s been a part of our efforts. But my mind keeps going back to the first hunger strikers who called attention to conditions in NORCOR. It’s bittersweet. Many of these amazing people have already been deported, but their work was vital to getting us here. It really does take a village.”
From SunriseMovement: The term BIPOC stands for 'Black, Indigenous, People of Color,' it is meant to unite all people of color in the work for liberation while intentionally acknowledging that not all people of color face the same levels of injustice.
“I am excited about the community response,” said Non-voting NORCOR Board Member Amber DeGrange. “We will not be accepting ICE inmates or the money attached to them.”
Still, the NORCOR board garnered little praise after the meeting, likely due to the lack of apology accompanying the decision, although many activists expressed gratitude for the end of the contract regardless. Several opposed to the contract expressed gratitude to activists and community members for their years of organizing, public education, and calling for an end to the ICE contract during and after the NORCOR board meeting. They also thanked local clergy and immigration attorneys who provided support for immigrant detainees.
Pictured: Gorge ICE Resistance protesting the ICE Contract in a blizzard. Photo Credit: Gorge ICE RESISTANCE
“I’m so grateful to our NORCOR Board for taking the high road,” said Red Stevens, a volunteer clergy member who visits with people detained at NORCOR, including immigrants held for ICE. “Hopefully this signals a return to the rehabilitation and rebuilding of our close community, without the need to profit from the humanitarian nightmares of outcasts and refugees.”
“While we celebrate this victory for the Gorge community, we recognize the fight for justice continues,” said Solea Kabakov. “We must reverse the militarization of our borders and dismantle ICE altogether in defense of human rights. We will continue opposing ICE until all immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and migrant workers are welcomed with open arms.”
Some participants commented that the board had shown little remorse for their participation in the contract with ICE, which has been under scrutiny for not testing detainees for COVID, and a COVID related death in their immigration jails. ICE has also been condemned by the United Nations Rights Cheif for “appalling” human rights violations.
According to a report on key findings from U.S. Immigrants Pew Research, “Immigrants convicted of a crime made up the less than half of deportations in 2018, the most recent year for which statistics by criminal status are available. Of the 337,000 immigrants deported in 2018, some 44% had criminal convictions and 56% were not convicted of a crime. From 2001 to 2018, a majority (60%) of immigrants deported have not been convicted of a crime.”
One commenter called on NORCOR to issue a statement of apology.
Gorge ICE Resistance has expressed concerns over whether or not the existing contract between NORCOR and the U.S. Marshals will operate as a “smoke and mirrors” back-door workaround. Possibly, (unconfirmed as of now) allowing NORCOR to continue holding people accused of immigration offenses without attaching the ICE name to it.
The U.S. Marshals have the broadest arrest authority among federal law enforcement agencies. And NORCOR’s U.S. Marshal’s contract has seen a 3742.67% increase in generated revenue since 2018/2019. Going from $23,200 in contributed revenue in 2018/2019 to $891,500 in 2020/2021.
Pictured: NORCOR 2020-2021 Final Budget. To view more NORCOR public documents follow this link.
Jaclyn LaMar has started a petition to get clarification on whether NORCOR’s existing US Marshal’s contract would allow them to continue housing ICE detainees. The petition demands that NORCOR end any and all collaboration with ICE. The petition currently has 300 signatures and needs 200 more.
From the petition: “Due to NORCOR’s long history of cooperation with ICE and their continued revenue stream through the US Marshal’s contract, we demand a formal statement pledging that NORCOR will refuse to hold immigrants for ICE permanently and no further contracts can be held.”
CCC News will report more on this issue as it develops. An update is expected from NORCOR at their September board meeting. Regularly scheduled NORCOR Meetings happen on the 3rd Thursday of every month. The next meeting will be on September 17th, 2020 at 10 a.m.
More information about the history of NORCOR’s ICE Contract as well as meeting minutes from the August 20th, 2020 NORCOR Board Meeting can be found below.
Posted April 17th, 2018: A brief history of the NORCOR jail's history with ICE and the resistance movement pressuring the jail to divest from the inhumane and unjust immigration/detetion/deportation system.
