In Formal Public Records Request, Oregon Elected Officials Ask for Information on ICE Policies

Seeking to calm fears, Representative Teresa Alonso Leon as well as Representative Diego Hernandez, Speaker Tina Kotek and Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson seek information on where ICE is making arrests.

By Rachel Monahan

Four Democrat in the Oregon House of Representatives have formally requested documents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about recent arrests of Oregon immigrants.

In their public records request, Representative Teresa Alonso Leon (D-Woodburn) as well as Representative Diego Hernandez (D-Portland), Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) and Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson (D-Portland), cited arrests at county courthouses as well as of a young man who was part of the Obama administration program that provided some amnesty to people who arrived in this country as children.

The lawmakers are seeking to understand ICE's policies as part of an effort to reassure immigrant communities that they're not in danger to go to the doctor's office or to school.

"I have heard stories of children who are afraid to go to school in case it brings attention to their immigrant parents, and families who are going without basic supplies due to rumors of raids at the local grocery stores," said Alonso Leon.

"I have seen restaurants that are normally bustling with customers that are completely empty because so many people in our community are afraid to leave their homes. We need greater transparency about how and where ICE is operating so that parents don't have to live in fear that they will be deported if they bring their child to the doctor."

Here is the full statement:

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