The Eugene Police Department has adopted new guidelines for responding to anti-ICE protests, following questions over an incident earlier this month.
The protests
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has an office in Eugene’s federal building. Local activists have said they plan to hold regular protests outside, in hopes of slowing deportation efforts.
Protest spokesperson Kamryn Stringfield said immigrants are being detained at their regular check-ins. She said while delays could leave people in custody longer, it also gives lawyers more time to try to get their clients help.
"ICE relies on a level of secrecy here being that they're in a sanctuary city, and the highlight right now is on Portland and LA and other places," said Stringfield. "We need to make sure that they are absolutely watched here and that we know what they're doing."
On July 1, EPD responded to the federal building during one of these protests. Police spokesperson Melinda McLaughlin said officers took a report about a car being damaged, which it now says was an unmarked ICE vehicle.
In a video posted by KVAL, a vehicle exited the federal building's parking area, as protestors grabbed onto, kicked and hit the car with their signs. It isn't clear from the recording whether the vehicle sustained damage.
In its initial press release on the day of the incident, EPD said the car was an unrelated federal vehicle. It issued a correction the next day, noting that the vehicle did belong to ICE.
Stringfield said she was unhappy with Eugene Police's handling of the incident, arguing it spread misinformation about the car and the protestors' actions. She said EPD has continued to surveil the activists during the protests.
“We want to see that EPD is keeping their distance and not breaking sanctuary state and sanctuary city laws," she said.
At a Police Commissioners Meeting Thursday, Police Captain Jake Burke said this month’s incident is now being audited following dozens of complaints. He said EPD is committed to the state's sanctuary laws.
"We have checks and balances throughout the command and through the agency," said Burke at Thursday's meeting. "We don't engage with immigration issues."
The new directive
On July 7, EPD issued a new directive to its officers. Moving forward, police are supposed to determine whether immigration enforcement is involved before getting involved at the federal building, unless there's a pressing safety issue.
According to the order, drones may be used to make that assessment, and police may contact Federal Protective Services for more information.
If EPD finds that detainment is implicated, officers can take down reports on minor crimes like trespassing or disorderly conduct, but the memo said those should be followed up on later off-site.
The directive notes that EPD is prohibited from "physically moving crowds for the sole purpose of facilitating the transport of immigration detainees."
At Thursday's meeting, Burke said EPD supports peaceful demonstration, provided there are no crimes. But he asked protestors to be mindful of other workers and community members who also use the federal building.
"There's a lot of employees there," said Burke. "I spoke to some individually that have no law enforcement background, and they're scared because they park underneath there."
Protestors held another afternoon of action outside the federal building on July 8. Organizers asked participants to be accommodating to civilians who wanted to enter and exit, before marching to the gates of the parking lot.
"We are going to keep struggling for our immigrant neighbors," Stringfield told KLCC. ""These are working class people of our community that deserve dignity and respect and don't deserve to be deported."
