U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoenaed Washington County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday demanding information on two Mexican citizens wanted for deportation who are currently being held at the Washington County Jail.

The subpoenas, the first to be issued in Oregon, are among many highly politicized ICE efforts that have taken place across the nation in other so-called sanctuary cities, including in New York, California, Colorado and Connecticut.

ICE issued subpoenas for Jose Crescenc Favardo-Alvarado, 43, who has also been listed under the name Jose Favardo-Sajardo; and Benito Juarez-Hernandez, 39. According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, both men are still in custody.

“Our office is going to comply with the subpoena because it’s valid and was served properly,” said Deputy Shannon Wilde, a sheriff’s office spokeswoman.

Favardo-Alvarado, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested in December 2019 on multiple charges, including drunken driving and probation violations

Favardo-Alvarado has three previous DUI arrests between 1999 and 2018. He was sentenced to just over eight months in jail and will be on probation for two years.

According to the ICE news release, Favardo-Alvarado is at large, but the Washington County Jail says he’s in custody.

The other subpoena is for Juarez-Hernandez, 39, also a Mexican citizen, who was convicted of sexual abuse in the first degree and sentenced to just over six years in prison. Juarez-Hernandez was transferred to Washington County Jail on Jan. 15, 2020.

In February 2009 Juarez-Hernandez was convicted of charges related to forgery and sentenced to a fine and 18 months’ probation. He faces additional charges for displaying a child in sexual conduct, four charges of sodomy in the first degree, and nine charges of sexual abuse in the first degree.

ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the jail on Jan. 15, 2020.

Oregon’s 1987 sanctuary state law, the nation’s first, prevents law enforcement from detaining people who are in the U.S. illegally but have not broken any other law. Authorities in the state won’t hold in custody those who committed crimes and have finished their sentences to be picked up by federal immigration agents, unless they have a warrant signed by a judge.

Proponents of sanctuary policies say they allow people to feel safe reporting crime without fear of deportation, while those opposed to them say the inability of local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities helps shield criminals.

A U.S. judge ruled in August that the Trump administration cannot withhold millions of dollars in law enforcement grants from Oregon to force the state to cooperate with U.S. immigration enforcement.

If the law enforcement agencies don’t comply with the subpoenas, ICE immigration officers can escalate the demand by coordinating with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to seek a court order, according to the release.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

-- Piper McDaniel; amcdaniel@oregonian.com; 503-221-4307; @piperamcdaniel

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