Civil Rights
Several Oregon leaders are asking for the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the impacts of sustained tear gas used by federal agents on people, air, land and bodies of water.
In a letter from Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, they wrote in part:
She said the WCJI calls for an end to all coordination between ICE and local law enforcement, decreased funding for the Washington County District Attorney's Office and other law enforcement agencies and increased funding for social services.
ACLU attorneys say documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit show that federal officers have attempted to enforce immigration law at 16 different courthouses in Oregon since the beginning of the Trump administration. They say such actions have made many people feel afraid to go to courthouses, compromising access to justice.
Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, with Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, joined more than 80 Oregonians, including Bend Mayor Sally Russell, in a virtual event Tuesday calling for the Senate to finally act on a fourth coronavirus relief package.
WASHINGTON, DC [08/04/2020] – Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) spoke before the Oversight and Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Roundtable discussion titled "The Bill of Rights in the Balance: The Deployment of Federal Troops Against the American People."
A federal judge rejected a request by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to bar federal officers from engaging in "unconstitutional police state-type tactics," finding Rosenblum presented scant evidence and lacked standing.
The Representatives and Senators responded to an interim final rule from the U.S. Department of Education that incorrectly interprets the equitable services provision of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and improperly diverts federal emergency aid dollars intended for public schools to private school students—without regard to need or income. Their letter details the numerous ways that the Department's rule disregards the CARES Act and existing law, including waiving the mandatory 30-day waiting period for this rule to take effect.