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Prominence of ICE Abuses Brings Joint Terrorism Task Force Issue to the News
The current campaign to get Portland Police to stop assigning two part time members to the FBI's
Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) includes the analysis that Portland cannot be a "sanctuary city"
while cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on the JTTF. When
the Occupy ICE PDX protest captured the city's-- and the nation's-- attention (see article), one
rallying cry from some of the protestors was to get Portland out of the JTTF. On June 27,
Commissioner Chloe Eudaly managed to convince Council (with Mayor Wheeler absent) to allow
the public to testify for over a half an hour about ICE, though there was no way to take a vote due to
protocols. Meanwhile, the April 17 forum on the JTTF featuring former FBI agent Michael German and a local panel (PPR #74) is now online. Links to the video and other materials about the campaign can be found at http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/pjttf.html . |
September, 2018
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Portland Copwatch Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.
People's Police Report
#75 Table of Contents
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Olivia
Katbi-Smith of Democratic Socialists of America (a participant in the campaign) spoke strongly as
the daughter of an immigrant about getting out of the JTTF. Eudaly claimed there are leaders in the
immigrant and refugee community who want Portland to keep participating, but said she was open
to a discussion. These comments made it onto the TV news (KGW-TV, June 27). At the hearing,
Commissioner Amanda Fritz stated her ongoing dedication to getting Portland out of the Task
Force. After Wheeler had the Occupy ICE PDX camp dismantled, he explicitly told the
Portland Tribune (July 31) that he has no intention of getting out of the JTTF, pointing to
"the threat of white power domestic terrorism" (though the FBI has traditionally worked to
undermine leftist groups, Muslims and communities of color). However, he noted he expects
Council to revisit the issue in 2019.