ICE agents claim Oregon mayor ‘created a zone of
terror and lawlessness’ with protest order, by John Bowden, 7/31/18. The Hill.
The union representing thousands of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents is reportedly accusing
the mayor of Portland, Ore., of violating the Constitution for
allowing protests outside an ICE center.
The Washington Times reported that the National
ICE Council, which represents around 7,600 ICE agents and staff members, said
in a letter to the city on Monday that Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) had
"turned the lives of our employees over to an angry mob."
“The mayor stated publicly that he
supported the protests, which were supposed to be about protecting immigrant
families. But what about the moms and dads that we had working in that building? What
about their kids?” Chris Crane, the union's president, told the
Times. “These are questions that we’ll be expecting the mayor and city of
Portland to be answering in the days to come.”
The letter, which also accuses Portland
authorities of creating “a zone of terror and lawlessness," demands
the city take steps to support ICE personnel in the building or risk a lawsuit.
“For now, a handful of ICE officers and
staff are taking this mayor and city on all by ourselves,” Crane said.
“We’ll fight alone for the rule of law and safety of our employees nationwide
if that’s what it takes, but someone on our side would be a welcome change
moving forward.”
A spokesperson for Wheeler's office told
the Times that the letter is being reviewed.
ICE reopened the agency's Portland office early this month after shuttering
it in June over the protests, during which thousands of demonstrators
surrounded the building and refused to let agents leave the building.
The protest, part of the larger
"Occupy ICE" movement, was created in response to President
Trump's zero tolerance
immigration policy, which forced the separation of thousands of families. Trump
halted the separations last month.
ICE officials told Willamette Week that staff members at the office
called police on at least two occasions in June to report protesters
blocking entrances and exits, only to have their 911 calls go unanswered.
"This area became like a Wild
West," one local agent told the local news site.
The unanswered calls came after Wheeler
directed Portland police not to intervene on the first day of the protests. "I want to be very clear that I do
not want the Portland police to be engaged or sucked into a conflict,
particularly from a federal agency that I believe is on the wrong track. If
they are looking for a bailout from this mayor, they are looking in the wrong
place," Wheeler said at the time.
The mayor later called on protesters to
remove makeshift barricades, and said that he supported the aims of their
demonstrations but not their methods.
Comments
Portland Oregon should
now be considered a No Go Zone. In Portland, Antifa is allowed to bring weapons
to protest conservative events and conservatives should cancel all events
scheduled in Portland. ICE believes the mayor and police chief of Portland have
already violated the law. Many agree and say the mayor should be removed from
office. Most of Oregon is not liberal. Portland needs to be shunned. The
population of Portland is 650,000.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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