Story by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
As promised, The Dalles City Council unanimously passed a resolution in response to recent ICE activity in the vicinity. A number of people spoke out in favor, though several characterized it as a good start. One of the sharpest supporters was Dan Spatz, who spoke about the reckless exercise of authoritarianism in the country today:
“People are arbitrarily pulled from the street, from their places of work, their schools, homes — no warrants, no due process, in cynical violation of the US Constitution. And for family members who may have no idea what became of their husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. This is intolerable; it is illegal; it is immoral.”
City Manager Matthew Klebes gave an overview of the proclamation, saying that it began with a statement of concern for the current situation:
“There’s a commitment for communications and information sharing, including addressing any confusion or misinformation, so we can communicate what we know as best we know, and as widely as we can. The third item was exploration of potential financial partnerships, with specific focus on impacts that children and families may be experiencing. The last item here was to support internal communication and training, so city staff understand the protocols for sensitive questions and requests during this time.”
He said it also required him to report back to the council in 30 days to assess how well the new policy is working.
In response to a question from Councilor Dan Richardson, Klebes clarified the role of The Dalles Police Department in the current situation:
“In a nutshell, The Dalles Police is not informed of ICE operations that may be taking place in our community. We do not assist or aid ICE activities. That being said, we also do not prevent them from happening. So these federal activities? We do not aid, nor do we obstruct.”
Commenters expressed support for the measure as a first step, and hoped there would be more to come.
In other items, councilors passed an ordinance that would move responsibility to hear appeals of city planning staff decisions from the Planning Commission to a hearings officer, and made several other minor changes to the ordinance.