A tight scene developed in Bend, Ore., Last Wednesday that involved hundreds of Protestants maintaining two buses for immigration and customs while detaining two men, according to reports.
City police took to Twitter to tell protesters that Federal Agents were on their way to the scene and asked attendees to move to sidewalks or leave the area.
Shortly before midnight, federal agents removed the two detained men from the bus and left the scene followed by protesters, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter Emily Cureton.
The standoff began on Wednesday afternoon after officers told the men were arrested.
Anne Aurand, a Bend official, confirmed that ICE officers were in the area, but said the city does not enforce federal immigration laws or detain people based on their immigration status, KTVZ-TV reported in Bend.
Bend police said it was made aware that ICE agents were in town for an investigation, but were not given details, the department said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“The Bend Police are not involved in ICE operations,” the statement said. “We do not use funds or personnel or equipment to enforce federal immigration laws or enforce immigration-based people … We are on the scene to gather free speech and a quiet area and provide support for life security.”
Organizers of the protest asked participants not to vandalize the buses, according to Cureton. After one person wrote on a bus, another person cleaned it up and a speaker told Protestants to “take a knee” when federal agents arrived instead of leaving.
Cureton reported federal agents who used pepper spray at least once. There were no reports of violence.
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Bally Mayor Sally Russell wrote on Twitter that she was told that both detained men had warrants for their arrest and it was not a ‘sweep for unconscious immigrants.’
She added that she does not support ICE. “I am very concerned for everyone in our community, and especially for our Latinx community,” Rusell wrote. “ICE is a federal agency and frustratingly we have no power over the executive branch of our country.”
Newly sworn in Bend police chief Mike Krantz said at a news conference that local police were only there to protect Protestants and did not help the ICE. Police stepped back when federal agents arrived.
“We want to ensure that attending members of the community are safe,” the department said in a statement Wednesday night, recommending that federal agents go to the area to disperse the public. “Please go to the sides, or leave the area.”
Central Oregon Peacekeepers President Luke Richter told KTVZ earlier that they would remain there until they saw the arrested warrants.
“If they’re going to take people out of a sanctuary city, they need to have the proper documentation about it,” he said. “We have not seen any warrants for her arrest.”
Those who know the detainees said the men had been living there for years, according to KTVZ-TV.
“Legislative activity in Bend, Oregon is part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement mission to arrest criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety and take it off the streets. ICE ICE Regional Officer Tanya Roman told Fox News.
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“While ICE respects the rights of the people to vote peacefully, this does not imply illegal interference with its federal law enforcement duty. ICE will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its officers and detainees, and will pursue critical prosecution against anyone. who puts them in the way of evil. ‘
