Portland DSA Calls on Mayor Wheeler to Investigate Portland Police Bureau’s Contracts with ICE
Portland, Oregon, 24 September 2019 — Portland DSA and local members of the Close the Concentration Camps Coalition were notified today that, with the advocacy of Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) will terminate their secretive contract with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Established in 2018, the contract has allowed ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations to train officers at the Bureau’s firing range despite the City of Portland’s sanctuary status.
Since August 2018, the contract between ICE and PPB has allowed ICE to train their officers to injure and kill immigrants and the people who protect them. PPB approved this contract without the knowledge of the public, and without oversight was able to materially support ICE in this capacity for over a year. That the city of Portland, a supposed sanctuary city, took money from ICE and allowed this contract to go into effect is disturbing and wrong.
This is yet another stain on the Portland Police Bureau, a rogue agency that has shown little concern for the communities it claims to protect. If this is how PPB conducts itself behind closed doors, then it is essential that the upcoming Portland Police Union contract negotiations are made fully public. With negotiations scheduled to begin in October, Portland DSA calls on Mayor Ted Wheeler to begin an investigation into PPB contracts with ICE and Department of Homeland Security immediately, and for City Council to ensure all negotiations of the Police Union contract are open to the public.
After receiving news of the contract from our coalition, Jo Ann Hardesty and her staff worked tirelessly to investigate the contract and help end it. However, the work is not yet done: ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations’ contract with the PPB for use of the training facility remains active. These contracts and the continued presence of ICE in its facility on Macadam Ave are incongruent with the sanctuary status of the City. Portland DSA demands the termination of all contracts between the City of Portland, and an end to all ICE activities in the City.
We know that this is a small victory in a much larger battle. We will continue to fight against all ICE contracts in the city and the state, whether they be with private business or public government. To all people of Portland: Join us October 14, Indigenous People’s Day, as we rally for immigrant and indigenous justice and call for an end to all ICE activity in Oregon. We will not stop fighting, because until all of us are free, none of us are free.
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photo credit: OPB
