PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement federal agents in Portland, as well as Oregon overall, was a major point of discussion at a city meeting that drew much public interest Tuesday night.
This comes after weeks of demonstrations outside the ICE facility in South Portland, an area of the city that was once again the site of a massive protest once the City Hall meeting wrapped.
Earlier in the evening, Portland City Councilors discussed what it means for Portland to be a sanctuary city and how that compares with the presence of federal immigration agents.
Members of the public were so interested in the discussion inside City Hall that people filled overflow rooms surrounding it, and protesters even took their signs to the front door and the sidewalk.
City leaders talked about the issue after Portland City Councilor Sameer Kanal added a discussion about immigration and the sanctuary city status to the Portland City Council’s public safety meeting agenda.
“This is our first conversation. It won’t be our last one,” Kanal said.
Portland City Councilor Angelita Morillo talked about how the ICE facility on South Macadam Avenue has become a complicated issue.
“I think that we’re in a very difficult moment between advocates in the community who are fighting for immigrants and, immigration attorneys who are fighting for immigrants as well, because there are different ideas around what the best material strategy is to help people and we know that with the Macadam building closed down, that a lot of immigrants are not able to make their appointments and are being taken to other federal buildings, their attorneys don’t know where they are,” Morillo said.
Morillo added that she “also personally believe[s] that we need to protect immigrants as much as we can from ICE, and that, frankly, ICE should be abolished.”
On June 14, a riot was declared during a protest outside the ICE facility. Days later, the building underwent a restoration with protective boards after property damage occurred, including smashed windows and doors and graffiti.
On Tuesday evening, after the city council discussion downtown concluded, a large protest dubbed an anti-ICE “Block Party” was held a couple of miles away, outside the ICE facility in South Portland. Demonstrators continued their mission of what they call getting “ICE out of Portland.”
“We’re on the sidewalk, we’re trying to make an impact here, and instead they’re coming at us with severe aggression,” said a protester named Daniela K. “We need a show of support, to show our local leadership that this matters to so many of us, and this may look like a big crowd, but we need more.”
Another protester named Helena said she’s been there from the start and has created a sign, gradually adding pictures of the people taken into ICE custody, day by day.
“It reminds people why we’re here, take the time to actually read their stories,” Helena said, who also attended the Portland City Council meeting earlier in the evening. “We’re just out here, doing what we can, every single day.”
A candlelight vigil is planned to honor those taken by ICE agents Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
