21 faith leaders arrested at Portland immigration protest
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Federal officers arrested nearly two dozen Oregon religious leaders during a Portland demonstration by a coalition opposed to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that authorities on Thursday jailed 21 clergy and one photographer affiliated with the group, which had blocked the driveway and front gate of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Oregon’s largest city.
They included religious leaders from Portland, Bend, Woodburn and other cities.
The group’s list of those arrested included the Rev. Erika Spaet, of Storydwelling in Bend.
The arrests marked the end to the largest action taken this month by members of the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice, a coalition that counts 140 religious communities in Oregon among its ranks.
The group has called for an end to immigration detention in Oregon.
—
News release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore.–Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, provided the following statement on the demonstration taking place at the federal building located at 4310 SW Macadam Avenue in Portland on August 30, 2018.
“Last week I met with members of the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIrJ), an organization that advocates on behalf of immigrant communities. We discussed their concerns on a number of important topics including asylum seekers being held at FCI Sheridan.
“Today, individuals affiliated with IMIrJ and others have gathered to protest at a federal building in Southwest Portland that houses employees and serves visitors of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Army Corps of Engineers. They have blocked the building’s driveway and main entrance and refused to move when instructed to by federal authorities.”
“As I’ve said before, freedom of speech and peaceful assembly are sacred rights, but we do not support actions that impede the work of federal employees. We acknowledge demonstrators’ concerns and value the conversations we’ve had with IMIrJ and others, but urge them to refrain from blocking access to this building. Failure to abide by federal law will result in arrest.”
