Oregon county commissioner demands end to ‘sanctuary state’ laws after elderly man stabbed by illegal immigrant

An Oregon county commissioner has called for the termination of the state's sanctuary laws after a previously deported illegal immigrant allegedly stabbed an 86-year-old man during an attempted carjacking in a grocery store parking lot. Commissioner Ben West, of Clackamas County, said the attack could have been prevented had the state not implemented laws that harbor illegal immigrants accused of violent crimes. He is now demanding the state legislature and neighboring counties take immediate action to reverse its "pro-criminal" sanctuary legislation.

The commissioner's remarks follow the arrest of Jesus Ascencio-Molina, 31, of Mexico, who reportedly stabbed an elderly man numerous times while the 86-year-old victim was loading groceries into his car at a Fred Meyers parking lot on December 27, 2024. Molina, a violent repeat offender, was previously deported from the US in 2013 and returned to the country on an unknown date, an ICE spokesperson told The Post Millennial.

Court records show he has racked up a lengthy list of criminal charges since his return, including a 2018 arrest for attempted murder.

"It's unfortunate that Oregon decides to protect criminal activity like this with its sanctuary state laws," said Commissioner West, who explained that a state statute prohibits prosecutors and local and state law enforcement agencies from notifying federal authorities about a suspect's immigration status. West told The Post Millennial he wants to see this law terminated, which has prevented Molina from being deported.

"We have the right to feel safe in our communities. We shouldn't have to worry about grandpa getting his groceries and getting stabbed," West continued, adding that local law enforcement agencies should be allowed to notify both the public and federal immigration authorities when an illegal immigrant has committed a crime. "I want to make it clear that I think this was preventable, and I think it was horrific. When we see this happen in our community, I don't think that we should be ok with Oregon not working with ICE to deport this guy," he said.

Molina is currently being held without bail at the Clackamas County Jail on four felony charges, including first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, and unlawful use of a weapon. He also faces one misdemeanor charge of attempt to commit a felony, according to jail records.

On April 13, 2018, Molina was charged with attempted murder after allegedly trying to kill a colleague with a nail gun. The case was later dismissed in late 2018, according to court records. The Clackamas County District Attorney's Office told The Post Millennial that prosecutors were forced to dismiss the case after the victim, who had a warrant for his arrest, could not be located and the information the office had would not have been admissible at trial without the victim present.

A spokesperson for ICE told The Post Millennial that ERO Seattle placed a detainer on Molina on December 10, 2018; however, he was never remanded into federal custody because state agencies failed to notify ICE of his release from jail due to its sanctuary laws in place that forbid state and local law enforcement personnel from doing so.

ICE confirmed to The Post Millennial that ERO Seattle placed another detainer on Molina on January 10 following his most recent arrest.

Similarly, a 2016 theft charge was also dismissed, per court filings.

Commissioner West questioned why the majority of local media has refused to accurately report on Molina, given his extensive criminal history and immigration status, saying, "I have not seen the media widely report on who this person is, why he never should have been here, and why that elderly man should never have been stabbed in our county."

"This concerns me because it is antithetical to our county's values of public safety," he said. Clackamas County is the safest and most highly populated county in the state of Oregon, according to law enforcement data. It neighbors Multnomah County, where Portland is located.

Additionally, West mentioned that the December 27 attack occurred shortly after former Democrat Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum "made a very grandstanding statement about issues at the border" and told the incoming Trump administration that its proposed border security policies conflict with the sanctuary state of Oregon.

"We absolutely should not have people here who have no right to be here," West asserted, explaining that illegal immigrants participate in "illegal activity over and over again and [Oregon] protects them."

A spokesperson for the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the state has restricted the agency from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, explaining, "State law prohibits us from inquiring specifically about place of birth or immigration status."

Oregon became a sanctuary state in 1987 and is among one of the most active jurisdictions in the nation to restrict collaboration between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. In 2021, the state strengthened a statute (HB 3265) to add additional restrictions on gathering and sharing immigration-related information with the federal government.

In 2014, a US magistrate judge determined that Clackamas County had infringed upon the Fourth Amendment rights of an illegal immigrant by keeping her on an ICE detainer after she was eligible for bail. The Oregon Sheriffs Association advised jail officials to cease responding to immigration detention requests unless they are supported by a federal arrest warrant in order to prevent civil litigation from occurring.

The Daily Caller reported that Craig Roberts, the former Sheriff of Clackamas County, who is now a county commissioner, directed the department in April 2014 to stop processing ICE detention requests in response to the judge's ruling. The sheriff's office took the policy a step further by prohibiting personnel from informing immigration authorities when criminal aliens are due to be released from jail.

The Post Millennial reached out to ICE ERO Seattle to see if they have been made aware that Jesus Asciendo-Molina was remanded to state custody. Call 1-866-DHS-2-ICE to report suspicious activity.