The Clark County Justice Center on Oct. 22, 2025.
Erik Neumann / OPB
The Clark County Jail will no longer be used to hold inmates whose crimes originated outside the county. The jail policy was changed in November after questions arose about three protesters who were arrested at the Portland U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility and then transported across state lines to the Vancouver jail by federal officials.
“Whether it’s a protester, whether it’s some other crime that happens in the city of Portland, there’s other jails in the community that they could take these folks to,” said David Shook, the Clark County jail director. “We’re just going to not allow them to come to our jail if they’re not associated with Clark County.”
The updated booking criteria was listed in a Nov. 7 county jail services document. Shook said since the Department of Jail Services was created three years ago, they’ve been trying to focus on local arrests.
“This really just kind of follows that philosophy of prioritizing Clark County arrests,” he said.
County Manager Kathleen Otto could not be reached for further comment about the change.
The policy change arose from the Oct. 12 arrests of three protesters during one of many demonstrations outside the ICE facility. They included clarinetist Oriana Korol, who was tackled by federal officers while playing music in the Unpresidented Brass Band at the facility. Korol and the others were charged with assaulting federal officers, according to Clark County jail documents.
People arrested on federal charges can be held in local jails while they’re awaiting transport to federal facilities. But in the days following the October arrests, there was confusion from both Shook and Clark County councilors about why federal officers took three people across state lines rather than housing them in the Multnomah County jail. Shook said it’s rare for federal arrestees to be held in Clark County if their charges are not related to local incidents.
The Clark County Jail does not have a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service, so it is not reimbursed for holding federal arrestees. Local law enforcement is also limited from working with federal immigration officers under the 2019 Keep Washington Working Act.
