Pendleton council decides against ‘sanctuary city’ status

PENDLETON, Ore. – A city in Eastern Oregon has declined to become a sanctuary city.

The East Oregonian newspaper reported that a resident asked the Pendleton City Council to adopt an American Civil Liberties Union-endorsed list of nine policies and rules that limited local police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Councilman Scott Fairley expressed support, but his motion to adopt the policies failed from a lack of a second.

Police Chief Stuart Roberts told the council that Pendleton – because of state law – already practices many of the policies and rules listed by the ACLU.

Roberts said an exception was a rule that would require immigration enforcement agents to wear duty jackets and make their badges visible at all times while in city facilities.