The Sanctuary Cities "Conversation"

Portland's dimmest bulbs take a stand for immigrants.

The Portland City Council Public Safety Committee met on Tuesday for a special listening session on our sanctuary city status and the recent ICE demonstrations. It’s a rough 2 hours and 22 minutes, mostly because the comments were not grounded in reality and the staggering amount of Holocaust appropriation. Israel came up more than once because we are living through a mass hysteria. I’m begging you people to stop this.

Why don’t you compare this to the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII¹? You could also compare it to any number of historical mass deportations. But, because Holocaust Education was a failure, you only understand Hitler + Holocaust = Ultimate Evil → so compare everything you don’t like to that. Wonderful.

The Public Safety Committee is composed of Councillors Sameer Kanal, Steve Novick, Angelita Morillo, Eric Zimmerman, and Loretta Smith. Yes — that’s our public safety committee.

Look upon my works ye mighty and despair.

Local media covered it as an “accountability session” but I’d use the word struggle, if you know your Maoist history. I had to pause several times. Imagine trying to defend Roe v Wade, but the only people who show up to support you are members of the Antinatalist movement — just the dumbest and most deluded arguments, filling hours of your time and making you look like a Pizzagate obsessive.

Portlanders demand government accountability amid anti-ICE protests - KOIN 6

In recent weeks, there have been at least 22 federal arrests outside the ICE facility for crimes ranging from mischief to assault on federal officers. We’re over 30 days in and it’s feeling very 2020 in the South Waterfront. All the ingredients are present:

• Trashing a federal building ✅

• Fighting federal officers in the streets ✅

• Tormenting the neighbors ✅

• Accusations that America has fallen and we now live under a fascist regime ✅

• Downplaying the violence against police while using grossly heightened language in relation to their actions. (LARPing the experiences of people living under actual totalitarian regimes) ✅

• An impossible victory condition (overthrowing the federal government) ✅

We already did this 5 years ago. It turned out exactly how it started: stupid, wasteful, and damaging. Did Portland accomplish anything throughout that process? Really?

Context

The actual situation in Portland is not great. The ICE arrests are unpopular, often based on really dubious legal procedure, and a horrible strategy for accomplishing anything other than chaos. How many people have been arrested for deportation?

2 more asylum seekers arrested by ICE at Portland Immigration Courthouse - KOIN 6

Two more asylum seekers were arrested at the Portland Immigration Courthouse on Tuesday morning, making it a total of four people detained by ICE in June.

The attorneys said the two people have since been released from ICE custody.

Both asylum seekers who were arrested last week remain detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash.

I’ve heard of 5 confirmed arrests, with at least 2 of them released by court order last month. It makes sense why the demonstrations are soaking up all the media attention. Exciting videos, violence, and dozens of arrests, up against numbers you can count on one hand. Are there more possible ICE arrests going on? It’s hard to say, but local media haven’t covered them and we live in the age of iPhones everywhere. It’s probably safe to say that Portland hasn’t been a major focal point for ICE… yet.

Now there’s a push to revoke the permit on our local ICE facility.

Portland ICE facility may have breached city permit rules, data shows - FOX 12

That permit, issued in 2011, allows ICE to operate the facility under specific conditions — including a strict rule that no detainee be held for longer than 12 hours. But an analysis of ICE detention data found at least 28 instances where that time limit was exceeded. In 20 of those cases, individuals were held for over 24 hours.

Several of the more reasonable public commenters quoted that piece by Ezra Kaplan. Full disclosure: I know and like Ezra, but he also does good reporting!

Here’s the sticky bit you may have missed: we don’t have an ICE Detention Center in Oregon. The ICE facility here has only four holding cells, with a 12 hour limit on holds (although accusations they have violated those rules are detailed above). That 12 hour window is crucial for immigration attorneys. It allows access to their clients before they might be sent off to Tacoma.

Revoking the permit could simply expedite the process straight to Tacoma, making things more complicated for immigrants who have gotten mixed up in this mess. Several immigration attorneys (who I like), along with Street Roots and the ACLU (who I can’t stand) have cautioned against revoking the permit. The later two are staunch “Abolish ICE” supporters, but they are at least savvy enough to understand that closing this facility will probably only do harm.

I cannot see an upside to fighting the ICE facility here. You’re talking about the 12 hour rule being broken, but resulting in what? 24 hour holds? Of the 5 people picked up in Portland that we know of, 2 were released to their families and at least 2 were sent on to Tacoma. No reputable news source has covered these “bus loads” of people that activists are claiming. There is no video of mass arrests or detainments in Portland.

We only know these detainees by names like Y-Z-L-H (a 24 year old Mexican man who a judge recently ordered released) so it’s impossible to say what they have or haven’t been accused of.

The man identified as Y-Z-L-H entered the United States in 2023. He was granted work authorization through July 19 and applied for asylum in 2024, saying he fled Mexico after receiving threats from the drug cartel La Familia Michoacana, according to court documents.

His asylum parole was revoked through a mass, generic email notification on April 11 from the Department of Homeland Security. He regularly appeared for immigration check-ins and had a hearing scheduled in Portland on June 5, according to a petition for his release. His case was dismissed that day and ICE agents who had been waiting outside detained him, according to witnesses.

Now we can argue about the laissez faire nature of asylum petitions under the Biden Administration, but this appears to be some bullshit. We have no idea if Y-Z-L-H is accused of a crime, and until/unless that information comes out, he appears to have been following the rules up until his status was cancelled in a mass action.

The average American is not cool with this, but look at what actually happened to him. He was picked up outside his hearing and transferred to the Portland ICE facility (gross), his attorneys argued his case (cool), and a judge ordered his release (extra cool). Without the Portland facility, he would have gone straight to Tacoma. (less cool)

The actions in front of the ICE building here have also been insane. Explosions, fires, makeshift weapons, noise devices at all hours. Add to that the feds tear gassing people and repelling them from the building. The whole place is boarded up and I’m getting those 2020 flashbacks again.

The Struggle Listening Session

So what did “Portlanders” have to say about ICE and local government?

Turns out it was mostly the radical activist class who showed up. It doesn’t give anyone a very good idea of how Portlanders really feel.

Here’s a fun sentence from Morillo:

 For people who are on the streets, to me, there is no one who is good or bad in what they are doing with regards to fighting people who are kidnapping our neighbors off the streets.

There is no good or bad, as long as you’re fighting ICE. By any means necessary comrade! I wonder how she feels about the 10 members of a domestic terror cell that were just arrested down in Texas.

Some choice quotes from the testifiers:

 I live in District One here in so-called Portland. Our community has been nonviolently protesting outside of the ice facility on Macadam, and in answer to these protestors exercising their first amendment right to peacefully protest, DHS agents have been violently and excessively using weapons of war against them. Some of these weapons, such as the toxic gases aren't even allowed to be used on our nation's alleged enemies.

 The Trump regime is spending more money on ICE than Israel spends on its military. Just the other day, they were talking about building more concentration camps like Alligator Alcatraz.

 The Civil War never truly ended, and what is going on in our country right now is proof of that. This white supremacist agenda that has been at work since the inception of our nation, it simmers just under the surface, incessantly vying for control.

That last one was former DSA City Council Candidate Jeremy Beausoleil Smith. Here’s the breakdown of the most common claims, for those who don’t tolerate rambling:

• The majority of speakers claimed we are living under a fascist dictatorship.

•  Several odd arguments that the vast majority of the people who ICE detains come from native ancestry.²

• There were a handful of genocide claims, including the building of concentration or death camps, and 3 actual comparisons to Auschwitz.

• Accusations that Portland or the PPB are aiding ICE were rampant, including claims that the City of Portland was helping murder people.

• Many of the testifiers still wore N95 masks. This wasn’t for anonymity. They identified themselves. That’s just how they live. 2020 LARPing is alive and well.

• Speakers couldn’t decide if PPB are part of the problem or if they should be sent to fight ICE and arrest them.

A local HR manager identified herself as “Antifa” because she is still under the delusion that “it just means antifascist.” It was peak Portland Progressive — a middle class resident of the Inner East Side, entirely insulated from the repercussions of her votes. She’s a big “Don’t Rank Rene” supporter who is an avatar of our low information, vibes-based voters.

Matt LaVine signed on with the most him talking points ever. Why Matt?

 Regardless of the details of past and present law policy and practice, once we're actively recognizing that we are on stolen land, it should become obvious that absolutely no one ought to be illegal on stolen land.

Charlie Michelle-Westley showed up, again, to prove why she should not be on the Community Board for Police Accountability (CBPA).

Daniel Kaufman, a long time Portland anarchist made his semi-regular appearance (via Zoom) to drop this gem:

 We have heard a lot about from folks about the specifics here in Portland. I want to talk about the bigger picture and how does Portland resist, and specifically how does the Portland City Council resist what is going on? The big picture? The United States is involved in a genocide in Gaza.

The United States is sending people illegally to death camps in El Salvador. Alligator Auschwitz or Alcatraz, or whatever the heck you want to call it, has now been created. They have the money now, the infusion of billions of dollars equivalent to 20% of the military budget is now going to ICE to create camps.

What do we think that is really going to happen? Where are we headed? Where are we already? Look at Gaza. Look at the fact that people do not come out of the camps in El Salvador except under extreme circumstances.

This is not even about the borders themselves. What they're doing is creating camps for people so that they can become slaves, basically. What will the Portland City Council do to resist this? Or will we just let the federal government create these kind of conditions in Portland, Oregon and in our nation?

It is time to stop this now. I beg you. I demand that you do something now.

This stuff is wild. I’m just not sure how you can help immigrants from this position of delusion. Maybe sit down and let experts, like those immigration attorneys, do their jobs? This fight will be won in court rooms and at ballot boxes. If you actually think the rule of law has collapsed in America I’m not sure why you’re still here.

I’ll tell you this. We are the laughing stock of the world right now. My friends in London, Tokyo, and Paris aren’t talking about how we fell to fascism. They’re talking about how ridiculous we look. The violence is ratcheting up, along with the chaos, and the Trump administration is directly benefiting from it. “Portland on Fire Again” would be their dream headline.

David Medina is a popular local conservative media figure. He was also arrested in relation to January 6th. He showed up to give testimony and was shouted down several times. You can find his version of events over on his Instagram. The comments are littered with praise. This guy is striking a note that some Portlanders have been missing. That doesn’t excite me.

I went into the lion's den on behalf of all Oregonians and Portlanders who want to speak up, but can't due to fear of being doxed or harassed.
Of course the radicals in attendance tried shutting me down - yes, the same people who call everyone fascists and [Nazis]³ were trying to shut down my right to free speech. Here was my testimony.
Portlanders want a safe city again. And continuing to demonize law enforcement is the opposite of that.

Medina is a useful example of my issue with the misalignment in Portland. By forcing this idea that this fight is just Progressives vs MAGA, you create a culture where David Medina is one of the only voices calling out the hypocrisy of our far left activists with a large platform. It’s guys like Medina, Andy Ngo, and Jonathan Choe who get the spotlight on these issues. They tend to lean pro-Trump, pro-police, and pro-law and order so all those things get intertwined. If the only person calling for laws to matter is the Trump guy, then aren’t laws themselves conservative-coded? That’s ridiculous, and it contributes to Portland’s screwed up sense of politics. Anything “to the right” of Angelita Morillo ends up “on the right.”

Medina did acknowledge the immigrants being picked up who aren’t accused of crimes. He claimed compassion for their families, but he also said this:

 I wonder if you shed those same tears for the victims of those people like Leonias Ramos Garcia, who was picked up for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual contact. These are the kind of people that ICE are taking out of our communities.

Leonias Juber Ramos-Garcia is (allegedly) a predator and he was here illegally, but... I can’t find evidence that he was picked up in an ICE raid. He seems to have been caught by federal agents in the normal course of their duties. From the KGW Article:

The case was investigated by Homeland Security, the FBI and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Madras Police Department, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

So ICE was part of the equation but this isn’t a good example of the work ICE has been doing. It’s an example of the strength of joint task forces, similar to the JTTF. ICE’s recent directives (handed down by Stephen Miller) have likely eroded the ability of departments and bureaus to engage in some of these necessary safety operations. Lack of public trust is horrible for public safety.

The United States is likely more vulnerable to terror attacks and violent criminals escaping capture because blue cities have no trust in the federal government right now. When they’re reading stories like this:

Immigrants with no criminal convictions represent sharpest growth in ICE detention population - NPR

Who can blame them? It’s a fucking terrible look. If Ramos-Garcia is a sexual predator, he’s gotta go, and that is something that Angelita Morillo seemingly does not care about or even acknowledge. Then again, if ICE was only picking up a bunch of Ramos-Garcias, we wouldn’t be having this fight. Here’s Medina again:

If you guys would just at least use logic in this whole process and at least get out people that are committing crimes — but you don't wanna do that because you're so radically involved with your ideology and your politics. It's insane. I pray that the people of Portland wake up one day and take their city back because majority of us: Democrats, Republicans, libertarians — we want our city to be safer again.

And that’s the problem. ICE isn’t bringing safety. Trump and Miller’s Deport-a-Palooza has a negative effect on safety. So “both sides” are wrong on this issue.

Good news there are more than just two sides!

There were a handful of sane commenters, including a city employee who called on Portland to support events like “Know Your Rights” trainings, as opposed to instructing PPB to fight federal agents in the streets.

On Team Sanity we also had Brian Owendoff and Ciatta Thompson. Brian got shouted down by the DSA because they don’t agree with his assertion that they are extremist. Both Owendoff and Thompson called for free speech but also protecting the residents of South Waterfront, especially children and those in affordable housing.

Thompson:

 As a child of a parent from a third world country that has actually experienced a military coup and civil war for 20 years, hearing American citizens use words as fascist and Nazi show their complete ignorance of what these words mean.

Allowing riots to continue unabated for a month while using magical words and ignoring legal residents pleas for help is both inflammatory and flat out dangerous. Having the police support the residents of the South Waterfront is in no way assisting ICE. Allow for peaceful protest, but follow the law and protect the residents of the South Waterfront.

That’s it. The riots aren’t helping. They never do. In fact, they drown out the stories of detainees. It was much harder for me to find info on those detained than to find endless riot porn. So let’s see where we stand.

The Accusations:

1. PPB should not be cooperating with ICE - they aren’t.

2. This isn’t a “real” sanctuary city. - it is.

3. Portland should revoke the ICE permit - that will only hurt immigrants.

4. The protests have been peaceful - they haven’t.

5. Neighbors are in support and only feel terrorized by feds - not remotely true.

6. Scores of residents are being taken in the night - literally no evidence of this.

7. Portland City Council is bending the knee to the Trump administration - not true.

Council Comments

You can hear the Public Safety Committee themselves weigh in at 2 hr 2 min.

Loretta Smith gave a politically appropriate, Democrat-sounding response.

Eric Zimmerman was more heated, referring to the administration, ICE agents, and anyone who assists them as “the great cowards of our time.” He gave a very supportive speech toward the protestors but asked this:

 These bastards are gonna do whatever they want to do, but I'm asking you for my residents, for my neighbors, for the people who do need to sleep every night: make your voice known. Make your position known, but also I think we can choose how the neighbors who live in South Waterfront are also affected by what we do. I hope that you'll hear my voice in that because I don't want them to continue to have to start relocating, which we've heard about in district four.

He got booed and shouted down. Just like the Society Hotel, his call for civility toward residents of this city was met with a resounding ‘fuck you.’

This is your district! Do better!

Zimmerman must know he will never cease to be a Republican to these fools. A boot-licker. An enabler of fascism. It’s unfair, but they don’t live in reality. This is just a struggle session Eric. You didn’t have to give them anything. The “these bastards” and “cowards” lines are probably going to make him some federal enemies, so I don’t think he won anything there.

Steve Novick said hold my beer and plunged head-first through the veil of sanity:

 One thing that somebody said that we should reiterate is that I don't think that there's anything to be gained by appeasement against this administration. We should not be trying to figure out how to keep our heads low and avoid the attention of this administration because as you all know, the assault on immigrants, like the assault on Jews in Nazi Germany is part of a larger pattern.

The administration that is assaulting freedom of the press, that is assaulting the rule of law. And I have to tell you, I fully expect that soon they will start executing their political enemies. Just because Donald Trump will wanna show that he's as tough as Vladimir Putin. So this is an assault on our democracy as a whole. The assault on immigrants is the tip of the spear.

And just like that, we are down to four City Council members I would keep. It only took 7 months. I thought Steve might squeak in after his stellar performance during the Children’s Levy fight, but that was nuts. The opposite of helpful.

Angelita Morillo fought back against Medina’s earlier claims.

 I know I'm not supposed to argue with people when they provide testimony, but I have to outrightly reject any narratives that some people brought up saying that ICE is keeping our community safe, or that the majority of immigrants that are being kidnapped, detained, and disappeared are criminals. We are not criminals.

No one made that claim. This has to stop. Morillo has repeatedly claimed that she is afraid to travel and sometimes leave her house because she is an immigrant. There are thousands of people living in this country who were, until very recently, told they could come to the United States, proper channels be damned, and they would be left alone. Now, the rules have changed and these residents find themselves targeted for deportation. After they have started families, bought homes, and made lives for themselves here.

It has been a grotesque failure of our country not to provide a clear and reasonable path to either citizenship or permanent residency for law abiding residents. We’ve had decades to solve this problem. We could have made many of these people legal residents. We didn’t. Now, the Trump administration is taking a sledge hammer to the problem. It’s gross and destructive.

But, just like Roe v Wade, we could have fixed it years ago. We could have built into law a sane compromise. Many organizations have proposed such an immigration system. The Center for American Progress (CAP) did so, again, just recently.

The Trump administration’s chaos and cruelty is not an actual solution to fix the broken immigration system. This plan is an actual solution, and it demonstrates that we do not need to arrest grandmothers or workers who have been here for decades in order to have a secure border.

The system is broken. We failed to address it. Trump won’t succeed, but neither will “no one is illegal on stolen land.”

Escalation, What is it Good For?

Now border czar Tom Homan plans to come to Portland. You know, the thing several of us have predicted for months. The thing Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney has repeatedly cautioned against. At a certain point the “we miss 2020” crowd were bound to try and bait Trump or one of his appointees to set up shop in Portland. Gotta have that Portland vs the Federal Government rematch, after all.

I expected the DSA to be part of this. I was shocked when Angelita Morillo urged even a bit of caution on her Instagram a few weeks back. What I didn’t expect was Steve Novick to join “the Resistance.” What an idiot.

We’ve got the assassination attempt in Texas and then:

Homeland Security says ICE officers are being doxxed, threatened in Portland - FOX12.

Several Portlanders will likely end up ruining their lives over this mess. Portland is in the spotlight, things are continuing to heat up nationally, and absolutely none of this will help immigrants. We need a City Council that will tell residents that.

Instead we’ve got a squad who mostly seem willing to return to 2020.

Do your part:

Don’t go down to the ICE building. Don’t watch hours of riot porn. Don’t spread needless panic. Leave this to experts. Give money to legal organizations fighting for the outcome you believe in. Understand that you probably don’t have the level of knowledge or skin in the game to actually help. Vote in 2026.

1. As Tiffany Koyama Lane has done repeatedly.

2. A strange idea that because they are Latino, they are indigenous to this country? This was repeated several times. The idea that we are “finishing off” the genocide of Native Americans by deporting immigrants.

3. He censored the word for “the algorithm” but I don’t believe in that, even in quotes.