Portland Dems Attempt to Sabotage ICE Deportations with ‘Land Use’ Agreements
Officials in Portland, Oregon, have accused a U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility of violating land use agreements related to detainee treatment. The city, led by Democratic mayor Keith Wilson, alleges that the facility held detainees overnight or for more than 12 hours on over two dozen occasions between october 2024 and July 2025, contrary to its approved conditions. The Portland permitting bureau conducted an investigation supporting these claims and initiated steps to enforce land use compliance.
In response, the Department of Homeland Security, through Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, dismissed the accusations as unverified and labeled them politicized attempts to hinder ICE’s efforts to deport serious criminal offenders. McLaughlin reaffirmed that detainees receive proper care and access to legal rights.
The controversy arises amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, with a notable increase in federal cooperation requests to Oregon law enforcement, despite oregon’s status as a sanctuary state that limits local involvement in immigration enforcement. Mayor wilson emphasized that Portland police only cooperate with ICE as required by federal law and do not use city resources for immigration enforcement.
Officials in the city of Portland, Oregon, are claiming that a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility is violating “land use” agreements as the agency works to deport illegal aliens.
The office of Portland Democratic Mayor Keith Wilson said on Wednesday that he would be “launching a process to determine whether the site’s detention practices comply with the conditions of the site’s land use approval.”
Wilson’s office claimed there were “more than two dozen detention policy violations of the [South Waterfront] facility’s land use conditions of approval” over the course of 10 months.
Those purported violations involve not allowing detainees to be “kept overnight or held for more than 12 hours.”
The city’s permitting bureau investigated the facility and concluded that detainees were held past the limits at least 25 times between Oct. 1, 2024, and July 27, 2025.
“U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement made clear detention limitation commitments to our community, and we believe they broke those policies more than two dozen times,” Wilson said.
“I am proud of our team for conducting a thorough, thoughtful investigation and referring the matter to the next steps in the land use violation process.”
But in a statement to The Blaze, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin disputed the concerns, asserting that the investigation from Portland “amounts to nothing more than a FOIA request, without any effort to verify facts with ICE.”
“Another day, another sanctuary politician attempting to prevent the brave men and women of ICE from removing the worst of the worst, including rapists, murderers, pedophiles, and gang members from the U.S.,” McLaughlin asserted.
“Mayor Wilson’s claims of substandard conditions at ICE facilities are categorically FALSE. All detainees receive proper meals, medical care, and access to family and legal counsel,” she continued.
The allegations from Wilson indeed come as the Trump administration seeks to deport illegal aliens, especially those with known violent criminal histories.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reported in July that federal authorities asked state law enforcement for assistance with immigration enforcement 95 times over a 12-month period.
That marked a 265 percent increase from the previous reporting period, which occurred solely under the Biden administration.
Oregon has been a sanctuary state since 1987, meaning that local and state police are not allowed to help with immigration enforcement.
Agencies in the state, as of a new law passed in 2021, are also required to report suspected infractions of state law by immigration officials.
“Because Portland is a sanctuary city, city employees — including police officers — do not enforce federal immigration law or use city dollars and equipment to do so,” the release from Wilson’s office noted.
“Portland Police cooperate with ICE agents only as directly required by federal law.”
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