PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The city of Portland, Oregon, announced plans to issue a land use violation notice against the local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building on Wednesday, citing repeated violations of local detention regulations.
The facility's conditional land use approval, which has been in effect since 2011, prohibits the overnight detention of individuals or holding them for longer than 12 hours. During an investigation, the city alleges ICE violated these terms at least 25 times between October and July.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made clear detention limitation commitments to our community, and we believe they broke those policies more than two dozen times, said Portland Mayor Keith Wilson in a press statement. I applaud our team for their thorough investigation and for taking the necessary next steps in the land use violation process.
The notice is set to be issued on Thursday, but ICE has yet to respond to requests for comment.
The building has also been a focal point for ongoing protests, particularly peaking in June. Activists, along with legal advocates, have consistently gathered outside the facility, providing assistance to those detained while protesters have clashed nearby during nighttime hours.
While disruptive, these protests differ significantly from the racial justice demonstrations of 2020. Nonetheless, they have drawn the attention of higher offices, including President Donald Trump, who has mentioned the possibility of deploying federal troops in response.
According to city officials, a permitting bureau investigation was initiated in late July in response to formal complaints, further supported by data obtained through public records requests from the Deportation Data Project. The most recent alleged violation occurred on May 20, as stated by the city.
Portland's local laws do not allow city employees, including police, to enforce federal immigration laws, maintaining a sanctuary city status. The implications of this land use violation could lead to financial penalties or amendments to ICE's operation permits, should significant evidence of violations be confirmed.
Landowners have a 30-day window to address the violations before potential fines are assessed.
