Nine detained at Oregon ICE building
Protesters have kept facility closed for days
PORTLAND, Ore. — Federal law enforcement officers detained nine protesters Thursday while trying to reopen a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland that has been closed because of a round-the-clock demonstration.
Officers moved in at sunrise and were able to unblock the entrance to the facility that has been shut down for more than a week, Rob Sperling said, spokesman for Federal Protective Service, which is responsible for protecting federal buildings.
Sperling said the goal was not to end the protest, but to make the building accessible to employees, who are likely to return to work next week. Officers were holding a boundary line between federal and private property, and they would maintain a round-the-clock security presence “for some time,” he said.
Seven protesters blocking entrances were charged with misdemeanors for failing to comply with directions given by law enforcement officers, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon. They were released from custody with orders to appear in court Sept. 7.
Another protester faces a state charge of interfering with a peace office, while one other was released without charges.
The activists rallying under the moniker Occupy ICE PDX — PDX is Portland’s airport code — want to abolish ICE and end the Trump administration’s zero tolerance immigration policy.
The occupation began June 17. It quickly grew in size, and the building was closed for safety reasons three days later. Officers entered the building Monday to secure equipment and information and warned protesters to stop blocking entrances or risk arrest.