City Council Declares Beaverton Sanctuary City

BEAVERTON, Ore. – The Beaverton City Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday that declares the community as a “sanctuary city.

Members of the city’s Diversity Advisory Board and Human Rights Advisory Commission spoke at the council meeting about their involvement in helping draft language for the resolution and the importance of the city making the declaration, according to a news release.

The resolution defines sanctuary city as a city that is committed to providing a safe community for individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, place of origin, or immigration status, and works to ensure that all members of the community are safe and can call for public safety assistance without fear of reprisal based solely on federal immigration status, in accordance with current Oregon law.

The resolution cites Oregon Revised Statute 181A.820, which states that “no law enforcement agency of the State of Oregon or of any political subdivision of the state shall use agency moneys, equipment or personnel for the purpose of detecting or apprehending persons whose only violation of law is that they are persons of foreign citizenship present in the United States in violation of federal immigration law.”

The complete resolution is available at www.BeavertonOregon.gov/WelcomingBeaverton.