Marion County officials are asking for a federal court to reconsider their previously dismissed lawsuit over what they described as conflicts between state and federal law on immigration enforcement. In their original lawsuit, county officials claimed that gray areas between Oregon’s sanctuary law, state public records laws and federal laws put local governments at legal risk. It asked for a judge to weigh in on how to handle requests for information by federal immigration authorities. U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane dismissed the lawsuit in February, ruling there was “no uncertainty” about the law, and the county lacked legal standing to bring the suit to court. The county is now appealing that dismissal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In a brief filed June 5, Marion County counsel Steve Elzinga argued that McShane’s dismissal incorrectly applied Oregon law on immigration enforcement and failed to consider “injuries” to Marion County, including costs and use of county resources. “In addition to already accrued costs for response to federal subpoenas and lawsuits, Marion County has imminent risk of losing federal funds, facing contempt proceedings if it disobeys federal laws and imminent risk of liability if it violates state laws,” the filing said. The filing does not say how much the suit cost the county or specify to what extent resources were impacted. County officials did not respond to questions from Salem Reporter asking for specific figures, or whether federal authorities issued threats to pull county funding. The original lawsuit, filed in August 2025, began after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent sent five subpoenas to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, requesting information about men on parole for crimes that included rape, kidnapping and sexual abuse. Subpoenas sought details including addresses, employers and phone numbers about each man. Instead of responding directly to the federal requests, county officials filed a lawsuit in federal court, naming Gov. Tina Kotek and top officials with ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  Through its lawsuit, the county sought a judge’s order to hand the information over to ICE. They also claimed that Oregon sanctuary law, state public records law and federal law conflict in a way that puts local governments at risk of liability.  Oregon’s sanctuary law prevents government agencies from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, which includes sharing information, unless a judge orders them to do so. Last year, critics of the lawsuit accused Marion County commissioners of trying to weaken the state’s sanctuary law. At the time, commissioners called criticisms of the suit unfair and untrue. McShane, through a separate case, eventually ordered Marion County to provide the requested information, which officials did the same day of the ruling last November. Three months later, McShane dismissed the county’s original case. In his dismissal, McShane wrote that the county’s work to assemble responses to the subpoenas and to verify compliance with Oregon law did not amount to “injuries,” and therefore the county lacked legal standing in its case. The county’s new filing argues that the lawsuit should not have been dismissed as “the federal subpoenas created costs for the county related to preliminary compliance and investigation, defending against different lawsuits and involuntary diversion of resources.” On June 10, Salem Reporter sent written questions to Elzinga, Marion County’s legal counsel, and spokesman for the Board of Commissioners Jon Heynen.  The publication asked for figures related to claims made in the appeals brief, including how much the county has spent on litigation on behalf of immigration subpoenas, how other county resources and operations were impacted and whether the federal government made direct threats to Marion County over the subpoenas. Neither Elzinga nor Heynen responded to the questions. The same questions were then sent to each Marion County commissioner on Tuesday, June 16 — Chair Colm Willis, Danielle Bethell and Kevin Cameron. Only Cameron responded. He didn’t answer questions specific to the county’s legal filings, saying he couldn’t comment on the lawsuit’s details. “Marion County has held all along that we want to keep our citizens safe and prosecute those committing crimes in our community, regardless of their immigration status,” Cameron wrote in an email. “This is about public safety and being able to act to keep those who call Marion County home safe.” PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Judge dismisses Marion County’s lawsuit over ICE subpoenas Judge orders Marion County to share parolee information with ICE State asks judge to dismiss Marion County ICE lawsuit Marion County releases records at core of ICE lawsuit to Salem Reporter Marion County asks federal judge to decide if it can share parolee information with ICE Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected]. SIGN UP: “I love and respect what Salem Reporter does for our community.” Salem Reporter covers the people, issues, and stories shaping our city. 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