Rep. Salinas visits Portland ICE facility, questions officials about ‘due process’

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — U.S. Rep. Andreas Salinas (D-OR) said she visited the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Friday, questioning officials on whether or not they were following “due process” when detaining people.

Salinas said she conducted the visit to not only hold ICE accountable but to exercise her “legal right to conduct oversight of the Trump Administration to ensure they uphold constitutional rights of everyone in the United States.”

“I visited the ICE facility today to hear directly from officials about their detention and treatment of our neighbors, coworkers, and loved ones. My visit reinforced what I knew to be true, the Trump Administration is intentionally creating chaos and sowing confusion around immigration enforcement to seize power and push the boundaries of the law. This is how we slip into authoritarianism,” Salinas said in a press release.

Salinas said she questioned ICE officials about their reported failure to provide detainees their constitutional right to due process, such as allowing a phone call to their attorneys. Though the officials she met with initially denied the claims, she was accompanied by immigration attorneys who then recounted several instances of ICE’s reported failure to comply with due process.

“When pressed, ICE gave me their commitment that they will honor all detainees’ constitutional rights. I will hold them to that commitment,” Salinas said.

Salinas’ visit to the Portland ICE facility, which has been a focal point of protests over the summer, comes on the same day Trump seemingly threatened to deploy National Guard troops in the city.

Earlier this week, Salinas also slammed the Trump Administration and ICE for the Customs and Border Protection arrests of two firefighters working on the Bear Gulch fire in Washington, one of whom was from Oregon and who authorities reportedly denied attorney access for two days.