What Happens When I Report a Suspected Sanctuary Promise Violation?
There are three ways that a person can report a suspected sanctuary law violation to Oregon Department of Justice (ODOJ):
- Call Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm to speak with a live Hotline Advocate (you may reach our voicemail if our advocates are on other calls);
- Call after hours and leave a voicemail message; or
- Report online through our website.
Live Hotline Advocate
Hotline advocates provide trauma-informed advocacy. You may choose what information to share with us on the hotline. Here is an example of the information you will receive during a call with a hotline advocate:
Welcome: The hotline advocate will share their first name.
Interpreter and accessibility needs: The hotline advocate will ask if you have any accessibility needs in order to communicate with our team. For example: Interpretation, translation, large print, or other communication needs. For language access, our hotline advocates speak multiple languages, and we have access to interpreters in over 240 languages via Language Link.
Informed consent: The hotline advocate will review our informed consent information to let you know what we do on the hotline. Below is a list:
- Mandatory Reporting – We are mandatory reporters according to ORS 419B.010 », ORS 124.060 », ORS 430.735 », and ORS 441.630 ». If you share information about child abuse, elder abuse, or abuse of a disabled individual or vulnerable adult, that you have experienced or that you have perpetrated, we are required to make a report with any and all information we know to the Statewide Mandatory Report Abuse Hotlines.
- Information Collection – We collect data (information) on the hotline. ORS 181A.827 »(open new window/tab)” requires ODOJ to collect information about suspected violations of sanctuary law. If a suspected violation is reported to the hotline and the reporting party or targeted individual consents, ODOJ will make an inquiry to the public body or agency suspected of violating sanctuary law and publish the response from the public body or agency. ODOJ is also required to report non-identifying information about suspected violations of sanctuary law to the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) for publication on their website. Information reported to the CJC includes:
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- Alleged violation
- Federal agency involved
- Public body or agency involved
- Response of the public body or agency to the ODOJ inquiry
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- If you are the person targeted in the violation, and you provide consent, your name will be used in the inquiry sent to the public body or agency in question. If you are reporting a violation regarding someone else, your name will not be shared in the inquiry to the public body or agency.
- Personally identifying information will be redacted from any records released pursuant to a public records request.
- Information collected, including personally identifying information, will be released if subpoenaed and compelled by a court order.
- Attorney/Client Representation – We will ask if you or the person who was victim of the suspected sanctuary violation has an attorney. Hotline advocates cannot interfere with attorney-client relationships according to the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct » and ORS 40.225 », and we will request permission from your attorney to continue to speak with you.
Questions: If you are reporting a possible violation of sanctuary law, the hotline advocate may ask you some specific questions including:
- What federal immigration authority was involved with the violation?
- What state or local agency was involved with the violation?
- What is the name, role, and contact information, if you know it, of the state or local government employee who violated Oregon’s sanctuary laws?
- What conduct did the public body or agency engage in in that violated Oregon’s sanctuary laws?
You may choose how much or how little information you want to share.
It is ok to report if you do not have all of this information, we still want to hear from you.
Support: The advocate will ask if you are interested in ongoing support options with one or several of our many community partner agencies.
Resources: The advocate will ask if you are interested in or in need of resources including assistance with basic needs or emergency services, and look to connect you with those resources.
Safety: The advocate will ask you about safety, and work with you to brainstorm options for you to make a plan for your and your family’s physical and emotional safety.
Feedback: The advocate may ask you for feedback on your experience with the hotline. It is important to ODOJ that people interacting with the hotline are provided with relevant resources and are treated with dignity and respect.
Follow-up: The advocate may ask to check-in with you in a few days/next week/at a later date.
Limitations of the hotline – The Sanctuary Promise Hotline is a victim support and information and referral hotline. We refer victims and witnesses to existing community and government resources, so they can get the support they need. Although ODOJ may open an inquiry into a reported sanctuary law violation, ODOJ cannot compel the public body or agency to respond.
Hotline Voicemail
You can report an incident through our voicemail system. You may speak in your preferred language. Below is a list of information to share with us so we can make sure it is documented correctly. If you request a call back, a hotline advocate will call you back as soon as possible, sometimes the following business day.
- Your name (optional)
- The name of the person who was targeted in violation of Oregon’s sanctuary laws
- Your phone number, including area code (optional)
- Your location (town or county is fine)
- What time is best to reach you (e.g. it’s best to call me Tuesdays after 1pm, or you can give us an exact date and time)
- A quick description of what you experienced or witnessed that you believe to be in violation of Oregon’s sanctuary laws
- The name of the state or local government agency where the suspected violation took place
- The name of the federal immigration authority involved in the violation, if any or if known
Making a Report Online
Our Online Reporting Web Portal form is readily available (by using the drop-down menu in the upper right-hand corner of the website) in 9 languages: English, Spanish, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Somali, Arabic, and Ukranian.*
If you choose to report online through our web portal, you will be asked for the following information:
- Targeted person’s name and date of birth
- If the targeted person is in custody and where
- If the targeted person has an attorney and who that person is
- When the sanctuary promise violation occurred
- A description of the suspected sanctuary promise violation
- What state or local government agency violated the sanctuary promise law
- City in Oregon where the violation occurred
- Name and title of government employee or police officer who violated, if known
- Which federal immigration authority engaged with the state/local government agency, if known
- If you would like a call back from the Sanctuary Promise Hotline
- If you would like a referral to a community partner agency
- Who the reporter (the person filling out the form) is in relation to the violation (victim, witness, concerned community member, etc.)
- Your name and contact information (optional)
- Your preferred language
You can choose if you want the Sanctuary Promise Hotline to contact you.
*You can request for the online reporting web portal form to be translated into any additional language by calling 1-844-924-STAY (1-844-924-7829) or emailing us (this email account is only for translation requests; sanctuary violation reports submitted to this account will not be answered).