Portland Shooting: DHS Scrutiny After Latest Incident
Word in Hazelwood spread quickly. When Andrea Valderrama, representing Outer East portland in the Oregon State Legislature, learned of the incident from her elementary-school-aged daughter, she was struck by the impact of these ICE enforcement actions. “It was not the standard, ‘how was your day at school?’ conversation,” Valderrama said. “It was an indication, as a mom, of the impact these actions are having on our kiddos.”
Valderrama’s district is forty-eight per cent nonwhite, with seventeen per cent identifying as Hispanic, a demographic she shares through her Peruvian parents. “East Portland has a notable number of immigrants, refugees, and families of color,” she explained, “more so than other parts of the city.” The community had experienced repeated D.H.S. raids since 2017, with Valderrama describing ”ICE agents breaking down doors” and “causing property damage, drawing guns regularly.” This has fostered fear and concern due to “an increased use of excessive force and violence and traumatic separation of families.”
Just after the fatal shooting of Good in Minneapolis, two people were shot near Valderrama’s home. That night, she joined Mayor Wilson and other leaders to address the public. “My family came to this country fleeing really the same type of violent tactics that we’re seeing in my neighborhood and in this city and across this country,” Valderrama stated. The mayor, questioning D.H.S.’s account, called for “ICE to halt all operations in portland,” pending a full and self-reliant investigation.
Nearly all questions at the press conference were directed to Portland’s police chief,Bob Day. The former aspiring pastor appeared troubled by the shooting. He was unsure if his department would be involved in the investigation, acknowledging “a lot of competing interests.” D.H.S. alleged the shooting victims had ties to Tren de Aragua, a venezuelan transnational institution accused of crimes including kidnapping and human trafficking. Day stated,”I don’t have any details that would link that at this time,” and didn’t yet know the victims’ names.
The story quickly circulated through cable news and social media, mirroring the pattern of good’s killing earlier in the week, with observers aligning either with the shooting victims or the federal agents.