Dear Friends,
I’m here to share an important update about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Southwest Portland. Following a formal investigation into the facility’s detention practices, the City of Portland will soon issue a notice of land use violation.
Federal records show that ICE violated its land use conditions of approval 25 times in 10 months, by detaining people for more than 12 hours or keeping them overnight. I’d like to thank our community for shining a light on these concerns, and to thank our staff for conducting a thorough and thoughtful review.
I want to be clear about what this means. This is just one step in a formal process. The outcome is not a foregone conclusion, and the federal government will be given an opportunity to respond. However, we must remember: This review was triggered by the federal government breaking promises to our community regarding the detention of human beings.
Whatever comes of this process, I hope you will join me in supporting Portland’s immigrant community and standing in solidarity with all those who have been impacted by the actions of the federal government in recent days.
I owe a special thank you to city staff for doing this hard and important work with integrity. Thank you, Portlanders, for your outreach and advocacy. I will keep you updated as we move forward.
Mayor Keith Wilson