TriMet took the unusual step of Friday of announcing that it doesn’t cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, responding to apparently false rumors that federal immigration officers were targeting bus riders in Southeast Portland.
The agency said it conducted no fare enforcement operations on Thursday evening except at stations near the Moda Center and Providence Park, where the Trail Blazers and Timbers played that night.
Further, it said sworn police officers in its transit police division are prohibited from enforcing federal immigration laws under Oregon’s sanctuary state statute.
“We do not support targeting any of our riders or any members of our community. Period,” the agency said in a statement Friday morning. “We deeply regret that these fast-spreading rumors have caused concerns about TriMet and the safety of our riders.”
It had tweeted a rebuttal late Thursday:
There’s a rumor going around spreading quickly about TriMet, our fare enforcers and ICE. It is absolutely false.
— TriMet (@trimet) February 10, 2017
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman also refuted the rumors in a written statement.
“Rumors currently being circulated that the agency is conducting random enforcement actions at Portland-area transportation hubs are completely unfounded,” wrote Lori K. Haley, the spokeswoman. “The agency is working diligently to address these false reports and we urge the media not to give them credence.”
She added that the agency’s enforcement actions are ongoing, but “targeted and lead driven.”
Posts on Twitter and Facebook claimed TriMet fare checkers were delivering people caught without fare to federal officers waiting outside the bus. At least one version was attributed the report to a person affiliated with a local media outlet, lending it some credibility among those who shared the post, though its not clear that outlet had a hand in spreading the rumors.
Some of the social media posts that helped the rumor spread have since been deleted.
Immigration officers have appeared at the Multnomah County courthouse to arrest undocumented immigrants appearing for unrelated charges, even though the county has a policy of not assisting in immigration enforcement. County officials have condemned the practice, but said it had no authority to bar the officers from areas open to the public.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have said there is no new emphasis on arrests since the election of President Donald Trump, an immigration hardliner. But that hasn’t stopped the spread of rumors about sweeps and arrests.
Other transit agencies in sanctuary cities are concerned about drawing the attention of immigration officers.
The Bay Area’s BART regional rail system has proposed a “sanctuary in transit” policy that would prohibit its own police force to limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies.
— Elliot Njus
enjus@oregonian.com
503-294-5034
@enjus
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