Democratic members of Oregon’s congressional delegation slammed federal tactics in the ongoing protests outside the immigration facility in South Portland in a news conference Friday, citing The Oregonian/OregonLive’s coverage of federal officers’ use of force.
The lawmakers visited the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Thursday to question officials about their policies on detaining people. Portland recently cited the facility for holding people longer than 12 hours on 25 occasions, potentially jeopardizing the building’s land-use approval.
On Friday, federal lawmakers talked about the outcome of their visit.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley said he drew on reporting in The Oregonian/OregonLive that Department of Homeland Security police shoved, hit and pepper-sprayed nonviolent protesters outside the ICE facility.
The newsroom reported last week that a reporter witnessed federal agents use force against nonviolent protesters, including one officer who repeatedly hit a protester in the upper body and face with a shield. Mayor Keith Wilson called for an investigation the day the article was published and characterized the actions captured on video as “deeply troubling.”
Merkley said that in response to his question, an ICE official said that the agents using force against protesters were Federal Protective Service officers, not ICE agents.
“So, we said, ‘Well, you have the building. Shouldn’t you be weighing in and saying that there is a red line in which you never attack peaceful protesters?’” Merkley said. “We have here in the United States a Constitution. That Constitution envisions freedom of assembly, it envisions freedom of speech.”
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Maxine Dexter and Andrea Salinas all spoke at the press conference, as did representatives of several organizations that advocate for immigrant rights or provide them legal services, including the ACLU of Oregon, the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition and the Clear Clinic.
Bonamici expressed indignation about federal police tactics, citing a different article in The Oregonian/OregonLive. That article quoted a Portland Police Bureau official saying in court that federal agents were “instigating and causing some of the ruckus” driving the protests outside the ICE facility.
“Even the Portland Police is raising concerns about what is happening here in Portland with the excessive use of force,” Bonamici said. “This is unacceptable.”
The lawmakers also slammed President Donald Trump’s threats to quash the protests, said ICE detainees weren’t getting access to attorneys and touted a bill in Congress that would mandate law enforcement officers carry visible identification. It also would bar the use of unmarked vehicles, except for “legitimate” undercover operations.
The experience questioning ICE officials about their tactics left them wanting, the lawmakers said.
“We asked about the enforcement tactics, we asked about access to counsel, we asked about access to health care. We asked how they decide who they target and why they make those decisions,” Bonamici said. “And I will tell you that I am not at all satisfied with the answers and the evasion that we got.”