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An undocumented woman arrested in downtown Portland after attending an asylum hearing has been transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Wash., her attorneys confirmed to WW.
“Innovation Law Lab can confirm that the respondents in the case have advised the court that she was processed into Tacoma last night,” lawyer Isa Peña tells WW. “But as we have not been granted access to her since her transfer, we cannot confirm anything further.”
Federal immigration lawyers disclosed the woman’s location Tuesday afternoon in response to U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio, who ordered that the woman not be transferred out of Oregon. In that order, Baggio said that if the feds had moved the woman out of state, they must tell her so within two hours. They did.
That development was first reported today by Oregon Public Broadcasting. OPB reported that Baggio updated her order to bar immigration officials from transferring the woman out of Tacoma. WW has not been able to independently confirm that order. The Portland office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not responded to an inquiry.
The Monday arrest in the lobby outside Portland Immigration Court marked the arrival to this city of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Attorneys for the woman, known only by her initials O.J.M., filed a petition for habeas corpus on Monday, hours after ICE agents arrested the woman, a resident of Vancouver, Wash. Her attorneys say the woman, who is transgender, fled Mexico after being abducted and raped by members of the Knights Templar Cartel.
In an interview earlier Tuesday, another attorney for O.J.M., Stephen Manning of Immigrant Law Group, told WW his client has committed no crime while in the U.S. and he didn’t know where she was being held.
Manning said he expects more ICE arrests at the courthouse to follow: “We should take them at their word when they say they’re going to do something evil.”
Elected officials have largely refrained from comment in the hours after WW reported the arrest. Mayor Keith Wilson issued a statement that “Portland stands unwavering in its commitment to sanctuary policies,” adding that the city “will not obstruct lawful federal enforcement operations.” City Councilor Angelita Morillo decried the arrest, as did Basic Rights Oregon, the LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
“Oregon is stronger because of immigrants,” the group wrote, “and because of transgender people. It is outrageous that ICE would come to Oregon and target a trans woman who is guilty only of seeking a safe and affirming place to live. Courthouse arrests destroy the integrity of our justice system.”