“Chief Day’s office even directs people who witness ICE activity to call an organization that advocates for ICE’s abolishment,” the letter states.
The US House Judiciary Committee has accused Portland Police Chief Bob Day, Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez, and Sheriff Morrissey O'Donnell of endangering the public by refusing to cooperate with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), thus allowing illegal aliens "to freely operate, terrorize local communities, and reoffend without consequences."
These three officials received congressional letters dated June 23 regarding their handling of arrests and cases involving foreign nationals, which the committee claimed violated federal immigration laws.
The committee asked the sheriff's office, the district attorney's office, and the Portland Police Bureau to provide all communications, as well as policies and procedures, related to ICE and immigration dating back to January 1, 2022. The letter demands a response by July 7.
Oregon's Sanctuary Promise Act prohibits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration-related matters. This includes not disclosing a suspect's immigration status or information to federal officials, limiting immigration arrests to specific locations, and prohibiting compliance with ICE detainers, which are official holds on criminal illegal aliens with ICE requesting notification before they are released from jail.
"The state of Oregon even promotes its Sanctuary Promise Violations Hotline, which allows foreign nationals to report suspected violations of Oregon's pro-illegal alien policies," the committee's press release states.
"Less than one year ago, ICE arrested an illegal alien from Mexico with convictions for attempted sex abuse and intimidation based on his assault of a woman in Portland," the committee said. "Despite an ICE detainer, the convicted felon was released by the Oregon Department of Corrections back onto Oregon streets instead of to federal immigration officials. Years earlier, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office ignored an ICE detainer and released an illegal alien who had been arrested for felony domestic violence. Seven months after his release, the criminal alien murdered his wife."
https://twitter.com/KatieDaviscourt/status/2035093576234016782?s=20
Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez's Office "has routinely undermined the rule of law under the guise of safeguarding the public," the committee said, adding that Vasquez has continued his predecessor's "pro-illegal alien policies" that directs deputy district attorneys to "explicitly consider immigration consequences at all phases of a criminal prosecution, including charging, plea bargaining and sentencing, in order to obtain an immigration-neutral case resolution wherever possible."
"At the time, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office committed to 'not provide information to ICE for the purpose of immigration enforcement without a court order requiring the office to do so' and 'not otherwise cooperate with ICE in any investigation or enforcement of Federal immigration law,'" the letter states. "Under your office's pro-crime, pro-illegal immigration policies, illegal alien criminals are allowed to freely operate, terrorize local communities, and reoffend without consequences. Like other sanctuary jurisdictions we have examined, the shielding of criminal aliens from immigration enforcement in Portland undermines public safety and thwarts the efficient enforcement of federal law."
Additionally, the committee lambasted the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) for its non-cooperation with ICE. "The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) has prohibited its officers from honoring ICE detainers and otherwise cooperating with ICE for years," the committee wrote. "Chief Day's office even directs people who witness ICE activity to call an organization that advocates for ICE's abolishment."
"Despite your goal to 'reduce crime and the fear of crime,'" the committee said, "Portland's sanctuary policies endanger the communities you serve."
The state of Oregon has been on the national radar for its sanctuary policies since President Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. The US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon issued a letter to several counties in April, demanding the whereabouts of dozens of illegal alien convicted criminals who were released from custody without notifying ICE. This includes kidnappers, child sex offenders, and killers.
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