Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek warned her state to be wary of ICE impersonators whom she said performed a traffic stop on a driver and roughed up the person, falsely claiming they were federal immigration officers.
Read more Murder trial for Massachusetts mom Lindsay Clancy opens for strangulation of three young children
The victim was released after 15 to 20 minutes and went to the hospital, then began to receive phone text messages offering legal assistance for the encounter, state police said.
The police said two men — one armed with a rifle — accosted the victim, wore police tactical vests, identified themselves as being part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and “forcibly” removed the person from their vehicle.
“There is already fear and uncertainty among immigrant communities across Oregon,” state police said.
Police said they confirmed with national agencies that the incident was not a federal operation.
Ms. Kotek, a Democrat, pinned blame on the Trump administration and said “communities” are “scared right now.”
“This is exactly the type of incident that follows President Trump’s continued attacks on immigrant and refugee communities and is a direct result of lack of the accountability and oversight of overly aggressive federal agents in our communities,” she said.
Read more North Korea to deploy 30K troops to Russia, says Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
State police said the suspects were masked.
Police said that is generally illegal under a new state law enacted earlier this year. Law enforcement officers at all levels are also required to have clear identification showing their agency, police said.
They urged residents who face traffic stops by unmarked vehicles to look to see if the light bar is built into the vehicle, and to keep their cars running when they pull over. They said to ask for identification and, if in doubt, to call 911 to ask for a marked vehicle to be part of the response.
The report comes as ICE has been under scrutiny for its use of traffic stops in deportation enforcement.
Two migrants were shot and killed in traffic stop encounters with ICE earlier this month.
The agency then moved to place temporary limits on traffic stops for immigration enforcement purposes, saying it wanted to study the matter and see if new guidance or training was called for.
President Trump signaled his displeasure at the halt, saying suspending traffic stops would be “playing right into the criminals’ hands.”
Read more Trump says Iran begging for peace talks after two more weeks of bombing
He called the stops “important and effective crime fighting tools.”
About the Author
