Civil Rights
Both of Oregon's senators have demanded an explanation after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in plain clothes entered a home in Portland without a warrant and arrested a man who was later released.
The arrest of the man, who was working on a renovation at the house on Thursday, was captured on a cellphone video by a co-worker who published it on Facebook, where it was viewed more than a million times.
Federal immigration officials say agents did identify themselves and showed their badges before questioning a U.S. citizen outside the Washington County Courthouse in Hillsboro last month.
In a letter received by Oregon Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici on Tuesday, the Portland office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said agents were in the right when they questioned Isidoro Andrade-Tafolla in downtown Hillsboro on Sept. 18.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- George Cardenas had a busy Friday answering requests for interviews after he posted his video on Facebook of Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents entering a private home without a warrant.
It has hundreds of thousands of views.
"I want people to know you have rights. They can't just do that to you," he said on Friday.
The incident happened Thursday morning in the Portland area. Cardenas said he heard a knock on the door of the home he and another worker were painting.
Federal officials say they're reviewing the arrest of a man by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Oregon this week.
The arrest, captured on video and posted to social media, shows four ICE agents detaining Carlos Bolanos inside a home reportedly near Beaverton.
Oregon lawmakers are demanding answers from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, after ICE agents appear to have illegally entred into a home to detain a man, who was released hours later.
The incident occurred Thursday afternoon as George Cardenas and Carlos Bolanos were working on renovating a house. Three ICE agents entered the home looking for Bolanos while Cardenas filmed the entire incident.
Two senators and, a congresswoman and a congressman issued statements Friday demanding action in the wake of the arrest of Carlos Bolanos.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D) all want to know how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will respond to a video, taken by George Cardenas, showing plainclothes officers arresting Bolanos in a Portland home without a warrant or consent to enter.
U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer sent a letter to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement acting director Thomas Homan Friday to demand an explanation for recent actions taken by ICE agents that some critics have said violate the law.
The ACLU of Oregon filed a Freedom of Information Act request last week with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal law enforcement agency that governs border control.
The request comes on the heels of the ICE's attempt to detain Isidro Andrade-Tafolla, 46, and his wife on Sept. 18.
Two plainclothes immigration officers didn't racially profile a Latino man when they mistook him for a criminal suspect last month near the Washington County Courthouse, an ICE official says.
The officers identified themselves as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during the encounter and never tried to detain the man, said ICE Acting Field Office Director Elizabeth Godfrey of Portland.