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Joint Terrorism Task Force Missing from PPB Sanctuary City Proposals In March 2017, the City Council voted to affirm Portland as a sanctuary city. A year later, the Council accepted a report from the Welcoming/Inclusive/Sanctuary City Task Force that proposed actions the city should take as a sanctuary city. These included that the city should provide seed money for a legal defense fund and ensure those who need help can access that fund. Portland Copwatch (PCW) supports the report's recommendations. However, in a letter sent to Council before the sanctuary report hearing, PCW suggested the City also reconsider its relationship with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The letter sent to Council on November 8 (PPR #73) noted: "Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a member of the JTTF, meaning Portland's pledge to be a Sanctuary City is threatened by PPB officers participating in the [Joint Terrorism] Task Force." PCW further told Council that if Portland Police are sharing information through the JTTF which leads to deportations, it means the City's policy is creating a problem that it then has to fix. It would be better to only engage with the FBI and other agencies when there are actual violent criminal threats being posed to Portland rather than on an ongoing basis. None of our concerns were addressed at the council meeting. On April 17, PCW co-sponsored a forum with the ACLU and other supporters of the campaign to get Portland out of the JTTF featuring Mike German, a retired FBI agent and whistleblower, and a local panel. German spoke about how the FBI doesn't even need reasonable suspicion to open an "assessment" investigation-- which would violate Oregon law. Meanwhile, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against ICE to find out what is behind the troubling and increasingly common practice of federal agents arresting immigrants at courthouses (Willamette Week, February 9). |
May, 2018
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#74 Table of Contents
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