Three demonstrators briefly detained at ICE office in Portland during protest to support immigrants

Federal officials detained three protesters Wednesday at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in South Portland after they attempted to block a van they believed was headed to Tacoma, according to video and witness accounts.

Michele Darr said she was among the three who were detained. She said she was taken inside the small ICE office after being handcuffed, was later placed in leg shackles and detained in a holding cell before being released less than two hours later.

Darr said she provided her name to federal officials and was told that she will face charges related to disorderly conduct.

The detainment Wednesday came amid heightened focus on immigration enforcement in Portland. On Monday, immigration officials

arrested a 24-year-old asylum seeker

after a court hearing in downtown Portland, marking the first public signs of President Trump’s immigration crackdown hitting the region.

An ICE spokesperson wouldn’t comment on Wednesday’s incident involving the protesters and the Portland Police Bureau said it had no information on the matter.

A video shared with The Oregonian/OregonLive shows what appears to be two Federal Protective Service officers handcuffing Darr and taking her inside the ICE building. A separate video shows officers handcuffing the two other protesters. An onlooker told the newsroom there were a total of three detainments Wednesday.

The trio were detained, Darr said, after they attempted to prevent a van from leaving the building. At the time, the protesters believed the van was transporting an immigrant to a larger detention facility in Tacoma.

Darr said she was there to “support immigrant neighbors who are under attack.”

She said she believes her detainment was an attempt to intimidate her.

“I’ll never stop,” she said.

–Yesenia Amaro is on the investigations team. Reach her at 503-221-4395, or yamaro@oregonian.com.

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