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Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler today condemned the federal immigration policy of separating families and prosecuting every person who crosses the U.S. border illegally, while vowing not to use the Portland police to chase away protesters who temporarily shut down a federal building Wednesday.
In a thread of tweets, Wheeler called the Trump administration's zero-tolerance and family separation policies "un-American."
"The policy being enacted by the federal government around the separation of very small children from their parents is an abomination," Wheeler tweeted. "I want to be very clear I do not want the @PortlandPolice to be engaged or sucked into a conflict, particularly from a federal agency that I believe is on the wrong track, that has not fully lived American values of inclusion and is also an agency where the former head suggested that people who lead cities that are sanctuary cities like this one should be arrested."
The mayor's condemnation comes as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement temporarily shut down its Portland location after protesters surrounded the building for days, blocking employees from coming and going.
Just after the federal agency announced the closure, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the family separation policy but upholding the zero-tolerance directive that instructs federal officials to prosecute every person who crosses the U.S. border illegally.