Amid a slew of obscure and symbolic agenda items, such as proclamations recognizing “Diaper Need Awareness Week” and “Hispanic Heritage Month,” the Portland City Council slipped in another item at its Monday meeting that did not appear on the agendas — one condemning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) practices.
“Mayor Dion and members of the Portland City Council hereby strongly condemn the use of unmarked vehicles, masked agents, and unidentifiable personnel in immigration enforcement activities within the city–especially in or around churches, schools, or other public institutions, recognizing such tactics as harmful to public trust, community, safety, and constitutional protections,” said the resolution.
Unlike other items, the anti-ICE resolution was not included on the agenda for the meeting, giving members of the public little opportunity to prepare to testify on it.
The resolution condemns ICE’s use of unmarked vehicles and masked agents during the enforcement of immigration law and claims that the practice undermines public trust.
It also requests that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other federal agencies require law enforcement officers to wear clear agency badges and provide advance notice when operating near local jurisdictions.
It seems unlikely that the DHS will comply with Portland’s demands.
The council’s resolution also orders the city’s Health and Human Services and Public Safety Committee to consider making agreements to prioritize “transparency” in immigration enforcement. The resolution also instructs them to review policies on monitoring and documenting immigration enforcement activities, and to address “civil unrest and community trauma caused by the lack of transparency in immigration enforcement.”
The City Council passed the resolution unanimously, without any public comments in opposition, although a few Portland residents appeared to speak in favor.
“We in the schools have made every effort to keep the agents out, and establish our schools as safe. We cannot do this alone, we need help,” said Kerrie Dowdy, President of the Portland Education Association.
The resolution seemingly came in response to a Thursday incident in which ICE agents arrested an alleged Honduran illegal immigrant outside a Portland school after he dropped off his child.
The arrest drew outrage from many on the left, but ICE claimed that the illegal immigrant had been arrested for domestic abuse the previous day and that they were forced to arrest him in public after he was released by the Portland Police Department, which did not comply with immigration authorities’ requested protocol to keep him detained.
