Police reassure Hispanics in TD

Audience members also reported fears of being deported if they reported to police when they have been victimized.

“I want you all to know where you’re at right now is a safe place,” Magill said.

The meeting was called by The Dalles resident Maria Peña following the election of Donald Trump, whose pledge to deport millions of illegal aliens has caused deep concern in the Hispanic community.

“I know that one of the big items or issues that’s facing you today is the presidential election,” Magill said, as Peña translated. “When it comes to law enforcement, based on the election and there’s concerns for immigration, things for law enforcement are going to stay the same.

“It’s not going to change how we do police work in Wasco County because what happens at the federal level does not happen at the local level.”

He said fears are that “Immigration is going to come and take you and your children away. That will not happen in Wasco County with local law enforcement.”

He said that under Oregon law, police cannot ask a person’s immigration status.

He said police must have a reason to pull someone over or to contact them when they’re walking. A reason could be, for example, that a vehicle’s tail light is out.

If police do pull over a person for having a taillight out, if the driver is able to prove their identity, then they would not be arrested. A Mexican driver’s license is acceptable proof of identity, Magill said.

Asked if police would arrest people who didn’t have valid U.S. driver’s licenses, Magill said, “No -- there are some exceptions to that though.”

He said, “If you don’t have a driver’s license, number one, you shouldn’t be driving.” But if a person is driving and can prove who they are, “they will just get a ticket.”

“If you’re driving without a driver’s license and we know who you are and it’s just a violation, that’s not a crime.”

Magill was asked if The Dalles would be considered a sanctuary city, and if police would be in cooperation with deportation efforts by immigration officials.

He answered, “I don’t know the answer to the sanctuary city to be honest. I don’t know how that process goes.”

Sanctuary cities are cities that have pledged to not turn illegal residents over to immigration officials.

As for whether police would cooperate with immigration policies, Magill said, “That’s a tricky one. We do cooperate with immigration in certain circumstances, and that is when someone is taken to jail. So what happens is, if a person commits a crime, there’s a process they go through, fingerprinting and things like that. And sometimes when they go through that process at jail, it’s determined that person is not a legal citizen. And that’s when immigration would get involved.”

Magill doesn’t hold people on immigration charges, “I only hold people on my charges. I do not and will not hold people on immigration charges. Matter of fact, I refuse to do that as sheriff.”

But, if the charges are lifted by the district attorney’s office, “that’s when immigration can put a hold on them, not before that.”

“But here’s the point: Don’t commit any crime. If you have a violation, it’s just a violation.”

But not having a driver’s license and not being able to identify themselves, that is a crime, he said. There is a possibility of arrest in that instance, he said.

“If we can find identification, nine times out of 10 we’re not going arrest that person,” he said.

Another person asked if he was driving without a valid ID, was that a crime or a violation. Magill said, “If he doesn’t get caught, it’s legal.”

“I’m not gonna stop people at random if I think they don’t have a license. I’m not going do that.”

“If I stop somebody with no probable cause, that’s a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights.” The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution bars unreasonable searches and seizures and requires that police have probable cause to search a person or arrest them.

Magill said the county would not enforce immigration laws, with “very, very few” exceptions.

He said he would research the matter further and send an email to Peña so she could distribute it.

A woman said she believed she was racially profiled when she was pulled over for speeding.

Magill encouraged people to report when they feel they’ve been mistreated by police.

“I want to support you when you feel you were racially profiled,” he said. “When you feel you were treated inappropriately, it’s important that they go to the proper agency and talk about it and we can address that.”

He encouraged people to come to him to tell him if they have problems with deputies, and he didn’t want them to fear repercussions.

One audience member said, “There is a certain group of Hispanics that feel safe but they have documents. What about the people who don’t have documents?”

Magill said, “They still have to come to me. I don’t care if someone has documents or doesn’t have documents. If they’re being discriminated against, that’s against the law.”

He added, “If that happens, I want to know about it. Whether you’re a citizen or a non-citizen, I want to know about it.”

Another woman said police stopped her daughter and asked her questions about how long she’d been in the country. The daughter had proper documentation, but felt mistreated.

Magill said, “Call somebody as soon as it happens or the next day… because the longer it goes the harder it is to address the issue.”

Another woman said she didn’t have documentation and another person crashed into her and she felt she couldn’t do anything about it.

Translator Victor Mondragon said audience members were speaking of “the unreporting that’s going on” because of the fear of being detected as undocumented.

The Dalles Police Chief Patrick Ashmore was unable to attend the meeting, but earlier said the purpose of the meeting was that, “I want them to know we’re going to protect all the communities. We’re all one community, but anybody that feels like they’re separated, that’s broken and we need to fix that.”

He said fixing it starts with having conversations like this meeting. “They should be able to walk through that door in my office and know they’re going to be treated like everyone else. That’s what’s broken, there’s a trust factor there. Just know that we are not going to deport you because you’ve reported a crime.”

Ashmore knows that is the perception the Hispanic community has. “I’ve talked to enough folks myself to know that. They’re afraid of us.”

But he said there was no need to be afraid. “We’re here to serve and protect everybody.”