More Reflections on Immigration Debate

 

This post is in part a repost from earlier this year.  The current immigration debate has made it necessary for me to add the obvious. Archbishop Sample, for instance, recently made some comments about immigration that I accept--to a point.  My central takeaway is that we must treat everyone humanely.  I am firmly in support of ICE carting out those who have a violent past.  As conveyed below, I strongly disagree with Oregon's sanctuary policies; it's part of what has brought us to where we are today.  That said, federal enforcement seems to have veered away from the worst of the worst and is dragging a wider and wider net in its sweeps.  I would say that I generally oppose the arrest of parents in front of their children unless the adult has committed felonies.  Likewise, I oppose ICE conducting enforcement actions around churches.  I also believe that ICE detention centers should be places where people are kept in humane conditions to await deportation or some lesser alternative.  I agree with our bishop that those in detention should also be given an opportunity to have pastoral visits.  We, speaking in terms of those in favor of enforcing our immigration laws, should be careful to avoid supporting actions that are unnecessarily violent in their nature--particularly against those who are not the worst of the worst by any stretch.  The children who are traumatized by these events are perhaps less likely to become the kind of people they could otherwise be; it turns them against law and order, justice at a young age.

It's ORS 180.805-810 and ORS 181A.820-181A-829 that set the backdrop for Oregon's sanctuary status.  While that's bad enough, Oregon's Dept of Administrative Services now promotes training modules that remind state employees that any cooperation with federal law enforcement (short of the existence of a warrant) places an employee's livelihood in peril.  This is somewhat challenging for yours truly for several reasons.

First of all, I grew up in Yakima, Washington, while it was being torn apart by drug violence brought north through the illegal drug trade and human trafficking.  It also happens that I nearly went to work for the US Border Patrol in Texas more than thirty years ago.  On top of this, however, I am active within the Catholic Church, which (rightly) interprets part of its mission to take care of the needy and forgotten--whether or not illegal immigrants.  However, it also does not oppose the enforcement of a nation's right to limit entry.  A particularly well-articulated expression of this, an apparent dichotomy on the surface, is found in the recent Wisconsin Catholic Bishops' Letter on Immigration.  So, that's my personal context. The Supremacy Clause is also worth mentioning here in terms of state interference with federal law enforcement.

The purpose of this post is to gather together examples and instances of when illegal immigrants were released by Oregon authorities only to re-offend--sometimes in horrific ways.  Disclosure: following this paragraph, I have employed AI.  It turns out that locating this specific information is difficult.  Several search engines and AI tools refused to cooperate--e.g., Google's Gemini.  It was as if they had protections created to avoid this kind of search; I find that disturbing.  The bottom line is that Oregon can and should do better.

1. Martin Gallo-Gallardo
In March 2018, Gallo-Gallardo, a Mexican national, was arrested in Portland on felony domestic violence charges. ICE lodged a detainer, but the Multnomah County Jail released him on bond. Seven months later, he was charged with murdering his wife, Coral Rodriguez-Lorenzo, in Clackamas County.

2. Fidel Lopez
In 2019, Lopez was convicted of sexually assaulting his fiancée's dog, leading to the animal's death. Despite an ICE detainer, the Multnomah County Jail released him after he served 60 days. ICE later apprehended him at his home.

3. Julio Gonzalez-Zamudio
A Mexican national deported four times, Gonzalez-Zamudio was arrested in Oregon in 2014 after fleeing a traffic stop with over two pounds of methamphetamine. He had prior convictions for drug offenses and violent crimes. He was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison for illegal reentry.

4. Sergio Ramos-Lopez
Deported seven times since 1988, Ramos-Lopez was arrested in Deschutes County in 2013 for trafficking methamphetamine. He had a history of drug trafficking and violent crimes. He was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for illegal reentry.

5. Johnell Lee Cleveland
Although not an illegal immigrant, Cleveland was released early from federal prison in 2020 and quickly engaged in fraud and sex trafficking. He was sentenced to nine years in federal prison in 2024.

6. Sergio Jose Martinez
Martinez, a Mexican national deported over 20 times, was released from Multnomah County Jail in 2017 despite an ICE detainer. He broke into a 65-year-old woman's home, sexually assaulted her, and attacked another woman. Sentenced to 35 years in state prison and 92 months in federal prison.

7. Sergio Martinez-Mendoza
Also known as Sergio Jose Martinez, he committed two violent sexual assaults in Portland in 2017 after multiple deportations and release from custody. Sentenced to 35 years in state prison and 92 months in federal prison. 

Hertz...Hurts

Hertz...Hurts.  If you're considering Hertz for a rental, I suggest reconsidering if you haven't already reserved the vehicle. If you do rent from them, I would advise you to consider purchasing their extra insurance endorsement. Our family left a Hertz rental vehicle at the Colorado Springs Airport rental lot early on the morning of September 29th. As has been our custom, our son took a slow walk around the Ford Expedition to identify any issues that should be reported; everything looked good to go. Three weeks later, I received a call out of the blue from a Hertz representative demanding $800 for alleged vehicle damage and over $400 in administrative fees. Talk about out of the blue.

Despite completely blowing the industry's chain-of-custody standards, they held to their position that I was responsible. Initially, the photos they shared only showed a "dot" of damage, but I later learned that additional photos were attached to the message. While none contained timestamping, they did show that damage had been done to the Expedition's trunk emblem. That struck me as odd, so I investigated a bit to see whether the area had seen other reports of vandalism. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done. I ended up filing a police report with the Colorado Springs Police Department at the suggestion of a department employee. At least, this creates a paper trail.

For context, this isn't the first time Hertz has had troubles.  Recently, they were sued for lying about one of their cars being stolen.  It was hardly the first time either.  The Clark Howard Show recently posted an article on the company as well.  Hertz is apparently using AI now to help them locate billable dings on returned cars.  See this article in Forbes.

Meanwhile, I haven't decided which way to go on this. I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau (1.5 score, by the way), Oregon Department of Justice (Consumer Protection) as well as Colorado's justice department, Clark Howard's site, and two local media outlets that do Consumer Protection stories.  I am sharing some information below for contacting the company in case it might be helpful.  

If you want to avoid a few weeks of your life going to the dogs over this nonsense, though, I suggest steering clear of Hertz.

Updated as of November 13th/14th. Tried a couple additional avenues with no luck. We have other issues we need to focus upon right now, so I am going to bite the bullet and pay at this point. I have added some more contacts below. Be aware, in our case at least, the rental car company changed payment methods without our authorization. I never considered this a particularly good area to focus on, but research online does suggest this is another slimy practice.  When resigning to the Better Business' Bureau inability to negotiate with this company, I accepted their "response" in the afternoon, but I let the company have it with both (verbal) barrels.

On the evening of the 13th, I decided to bite the bullet and pay the stupid thing under protest.  Tried to register an account on the Hertz site in order to pay online, but it said that my claim number was invalid.  On the morning of the 14th, much to my happy shock, I learned the claim had been cancelled in its entirety.  Not sure what was behind the change of tune, but in my final correspondence I emphasized the company's dismal history in terms of lawsuits and complaints and being the subject of nationally syndicated radio personalities.

Gil West

CEO Email: gil.west@hertz.com 

Lawanda Huff

Director Customer Service: lhuff@hertz.com

executivecustomerservice@hertz.com

Presidentscircle@hertz.com    

Michelle Hendrix, Michelle.Hendrix@hertz.com

Recovery Specialist’s Phone Number: (844)969-8951

Recovery Specialist’s Extension: 4088