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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.
On Thursday, a video surfaced showing ICE agents in plain clothes entering a Portland home without a warrant and arresting a man who was working in the home. ICE later released Carlos Bolanos and issued a statement saying the agency was investigating the incident.
Bonamici and Blumenauer sent another letter to the federal agency nearly a month ago after a US citizen named Isidoro Andrade-Tafolla was questioned by ICE agents outside a Washington County courthouse.
ICE Acting Field Office Director Elizabeth Godfrey responded in a letter saying that "throughout the encounter, ICE officers handled themselves with professionalism and treated Mr. Andrade-Tafolla with respect." She further justified the officers' actions, saying "in the Portland metro area in particular, ICE officers are facing increasingly hostile and aggressive sentiment and obstructionist tactics."
The Oregon representatives questioned Godfrey's answer in their second letter. "Director Godfrey emphasized the need for public trust in law enforcement and the ICE agency," they wrote. "We share that goal, but these two recent examples of inappropriate behavior by ICE agents are serious threats to people we represent, and they undermine public confidence in the integrity of the agency."