By Katie Daviscourt – The Postmillennial
On Tuesday, Border Czar Tom Homan announced he would be traveling to Portland, Oregon, following the ongoing Antifa occupation outside the ICE facility, which has been under siege by protesters for more than 30 consecutive days. Homan vowed to flood the self-described sanctuary city with a flurry of ICE agents, saying that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would not be deterred in carrying out immigration enforcement efforts despite the continuous attacks on federal agents.
“If we can’t arrest a bad guy in the jail, then we will go into to community and find them. Or we will do more worksite enforcement and find them at the worksite. And when we do these things and we ramp up that enforcement, we’re going to find others. Others who are not a criminal target but they’re in the country illegally, we’re going to arrest them, too,” he continued. “So, what you’re going to get, sanctuary cities, is exactly what you don’t want: more agents in your communities and more collateral arrests. That’s what we’re going to do…So, for those who say they’re going to keep ICE out of the city, good luck with that!”
Homan’s statements are in response the the occupation outside the ICE facility in South Portland, which began on June 7 in protest of the Trump administration’s mass deportation operations. It’s been the site of near-nightly clashes between federal police officers and black clad agitators, many of whom have launched serious attacks on federal agents, as well as the building.
More than 21 individuals involved in the occupation have been federally charged for a variety of offenses, including assault on federal police officers with deadly weapons, felony arson, possession of unregistered destructive devices, depredation of government property, and refusing lawful orders.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that attacks on ICE agents have increased 700 percent since President Trump took office.
Community members have expressed disdain for the occupation and have pleaded to the city to quell the nightly noise disturbances, which they say have resulted in sleepless nights. Despite residents’ repeated 911 calls, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) has done essentially nothing to help the suffering residents, many of whom are elderly and living in low-income housing, citing short staffing due to the 2020 defund the police movement and sanctuary policies. At least one resident, who was captured in a viral video taken by The Post Millennial, has announced a lawsuit against the city.
Furthermore, a resident leasing an apartment unit roughly one block away from the ICE facility has opened up his unit to individuals involved in the 24/7 occupation so they can continue their daily protests.
The City of Portland has stood by its self-designated sanctuary status in the wake of the riots, and the Portland Police Bureau asserted that its officers would not assist ICE with immigration enforcement operations.