Protesters hold up US detention of 2 criminal aliens in Oregon for hours

Protesters hold up US detention of 2 in Oregon for hours

Associated Press•August 12, 2020

BEND, Ore. (AP) — U.S. Border Patrol officers late Wednesday used pepper spray on demonstrators as they pushed their way through a crowd to get to two men detained by immigration agents inside a bus that could not move for about 12 hours because of the protesters.

The men under detention were removed by the 20 border control officers and their whereabouts and identities were not clear Thursday morning.

The Bend Bulletin reported the men had been in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials since mid-Wednesday, when hundreds of protesters prevented the bus they were on from leaving a parking lot.

The Border Patrol officers used pepper spray to disperse the protesters near the bus as the two men were taken out about 11 p.m., the newspaper said.

“They — despite our best efforts at a peaceful protest — took them to get away,” said Morgan Schmidt, a staff member of Bend's First Presbyterian Church who identified herself as a clergy witness.

Immigration attorney Micaela Guthrie said the detained men have lived in central Oregon for over a decade, Oregon Public Broadcast reported.

ICE spokesperson Tanya Roman said in a statement the two people arrested had histories of criminally violent behavior, though Roman didn’t offer specifics.

“While ICE respects the rights of people to voice their opinion peacefully, that does not include illegally interfering with their federal law enforcement duties. ICE will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its officers and detainees, and will vigorously pursue prosecution against anyone who puts them in harm’s way,” Roman said.

The crowd of protesters appeared at the bus because one of the detained men managed to call his wife, said Carlos Sanchez, identified by local media as a family spokesman.

Bend Mayor Sally Russell had asked people surrounding the bus to leave the area, saying on Twitter that the arrests were not an immigration sweep and that she had been informed the men had warrants for their arrest.

Portland-based nonprofit Innovation Law Lab has asked a federal court to prevent immigration agents from taking the men out of central Oregon, the ACLU said Wednesday night.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/immigrati...041703035.html

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Bend, Oregon activists block ICE bus, prompting federal agents' response

The protest spanned hours, as two unmarked ICE buses were blocked by protesters

By Brie Stimson | Fox News


Federal agents clash with protesters blocking ICE bus in Bend, Oregon

Raw video: Hundreds of protesters clash with federal agents while blocking ICE bus for hours in Bend, Oregon


Federal agents in Bend, Ore., clashed with hundreds of protesters late Wednesday night after an hourslong standoff sparked by the arrest of two men by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, who said they were a "threat to the public."

Bend's episode, which is about a three-hour drive from Portland, was the latest in tensions among protesters, local police and federal agents.

"I’ve never been so disgusted by my government and so proud of my community," Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel, who attended the protest, wrote on Twitter.

https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxne....jpg?ve=1&tl=1
Protesters blocking an unmarked ICE bus hold up their hands as federal agents arrive in Bend, Ore. (Garrett Andrews/The Bulletin)


The protest spanned hours, as two unmarked ICE buses were blocked by protesters who apparently witnessed the arrests.

Shortly before midnight, federal agents removed the two detained men from a bus and left the scene. The protesters also dispersed, according to an Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter.

"It appears the Federal Agents have left the area," Bend police wrote on Twitter. "The attendees of the first amendment event appear to have [dispersed] peacefully."

https://cf-images.us-east-1.prod.bol...atch/image.jpg[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2)]
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Bend police said it had been made aware ICE agents were in the city conducting an investigation but were not given details, the department said in a statement.

“The Bend Police are not involved with ICE operations,” the statement said. “We do not use funds or personnel or equipment to enforce federal immigration laws or to detain people based on immigration status…

We are on scene to allow free speech and a peaceful area to assemble and to provide life safety support.”

Protest organizers asked participants not to vandalize the buses, and after one person wrote on a bus another person cleaned it off, according to an OPB reporter. A speaker also told protesters to "take a knee" when federal agents arrive instead of leaving.

A reporter at the scene said federal agents used pepper spray at least once. There were no reports of violence.


“The law enforcement activity in Bend, Oregon is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s mission to arrest criminal aliens presenting a danger to public safety and take them off the street," a statement acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cucinelli posted to Twitter read. "The two individuals arrested each had a history of criminal violent behavior."

"While ICE respects the rights of people to voice their opinion peacefully, that does not include illegally interfering with their federal law enforcement duties," it said. "ICE will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its officers and detainees, and will vigorously pursue prosecution against anyone who puts them in harm’s way.”

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Bend Mayor Sally Russell wrote on Twitter she had been told that both detained men had warrants out for their arrest and it wasn’t a “sweep for undocumented immigrants.”

She added that she doesn’t support ICE. “I am very worried for everyone in our community, and especially our Latinx community,” Rusell wrote. “ICE is a Federal agency and frustratingly we have no power over the Executive Branch of our country.”

Newly sworn-in Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said in a news conference earlier that local police were there only to protect protesters and were not assisting ICE.

Police stepped back when federal agents arrived.
"We want to ensure community members present are safe," the department said in a statement Wednesday evening, advising that federal agents were heading to the area to disperse the crowd. "Please move to sidewalks, or leave the area."

Central Oregon Peacekeepers President Luke Richter told KTVZ earlier they would remain there until they saw the arrest warrants.

"If they're going to take people from a sanctuary city, they need to have proper documentation of that,” he said. “We have not seen any warrants for their arrest."

Those who know the detainees said the men have lived there for years, according to KTVZ-TV.

The protest movement to abolish ICE has picked up steam lately along with anti-police demonstrations. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who supports getting rid of the agency, wrote in a tweet late last month, "Abolishing ICE isn’t a radical thing to do, it’s a humane thing to do."

https://www.foxnews.com/us/hundreds-...-men-for-hours

Federal judge denies restraining order sought for 2 Bend men detained by ICE

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A federal judge on Thursday denied an immigration rights law group's request for a temporary restraining order to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from transporting two detainees at the center of a large protest out of the state -- because they already were.

The Innovation Law Lab said the judge denied the emergency motion request after an hour-long hearing.

“We are disappointed that before the hearing, ICE transported our clients out of the jurisdiction,” said Nadia Dahab, senior staff attorney with Innovation Law Lab.

“Although the court denied the TRO, the community was heard. Our clients cannot be deported and we will be able to make contact with them,” Dahab said.

The judge continued the hearing to Sept. 3 at 10 a.m. for additional arguments on the legality of the immigration agency’s actions, the organization added.

Bend attorney Erin Carter told NewsChannel 21 the federal judge rejected the request in the lawsuit for a restraining order because ICE agents already had taken the two men, Josue and Mark, out of state, likely to a Tacoma, Wash., detention center, making the request "basically moot."

Earlier Thursday, hundreds of people gathered at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott parking lot in southwest Bend to show support for the two men detained by ICE on two unmarked buses that were blocked by protesters for nearly 12 hours Wednesday, until Border Patrol agents moved in and took them into custody, using pepper spray and, according to some protesters, less-lethal "rubber bullets.".

A number of Central Oregon immigration leaders spoke at the parking lot news conference, including Hilda Leon with the Latino Community Association, who told NewsChannel 21, she and her partners will do whatever they can to help the two men.

"They are not my close friends, but they are members of our community,” Leon said. “We are going to stand up for them. We are going to be their voice any time and any place."

The attorneys for both men, Carter and Micaela Guthrie, said ICE detained them without showing a warrant.

According to Section 287 of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, ICE said it does not need a judicial warrant to arrest undocumented people. But Carter said ICE is required to have its own administrative warrant for arrest to pick someone up, and none has been shared with the lawyers.

Carter and Guthrie, of Bend Immigration Group, are currently working with Innovation Law Lab in Portland on the legal actions.

“Their legal right is to have representation by an attorney in immigration court,” Carter said. “That is something they were denied all day yesterday."

A spokeswoman for ICE provided NewsChannel 21 with the following statement:

“The two individuals arrested by ice have criminal records that include convictions for assault, harassment, coercion, and criminal trespassing. they are also repeat immigration violators who were previously encountered by U.S. immigration officials and granted voluntary return to their home countries."

NewsChannel 21 has not confirmed whether the two men are facing federal charges but both men do have a criminal history in Deschutes County, including misdemeanor and assault charges.

"Whether or not somebody has this criminal history, that is not always going to subject that person to removal,” Guthrie said.

https://ktvz.com/news/bend/2020/08/1...tained-by-ice/