i urge you to write letters of support to Senator Jeff Merkley, also to Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Suzanne Bonamici, who are working for our citizen rights in our U.S. Congress.
this below came from Senator Jeff Merkley tonight.
om peace namaste
lucy brook
nehalem resident
U.S. citizen
Just one day after Renee Nicole Good was gunned down by ICE in Minneapolis, federal agents under the Trump Administration shot more people, this time in East Portland. I am furious.
As we wait on word on the condition of the two people shot by federal agents, I am praying for their recovery. My heart goes out to their families, who have been plunged into pain and uncertainty.
ICE has been terrorizing our communities at the behest of Trump, an authoritarian strongman. It has done nothing to make our communities safer — quite the opposite.
I am demanding full transparency on what happened, including the role of both ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and full accountability. That means an investigation that includes local and state officials.
There is no way that we can trust information coming from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) when DHS officials have repeatedly lied to the American people. Time and again, the Trump Administration has trampled on the right to due process, denied people the ability to contact lawyers and family, and moved people without telling anyone where they are, sometimes even deporting them before anyone knows where they are.
The Trump Administration claimed Kilmar Abrego Garcia had gang connections when he didn’t. He was deported — ripped away from his family — and it took a 9-0 ruling from the Supreme Court to return him home.
The Trump Administration lied to the American public about Mahmoud Khalil, claiming he resisted arrest, all because he protested the Administration’s foreign policy.
And the Trump Administration detained Jackie Merlos, an Oregonian ripped from her young children, for more than four months without ever charging her with a crime.
There is a clear pattern here: the Administration lies to the American public, denies due process to people, and terrorizes our communities with masked agents invading our neighborhoods. There is a word for stripping away fundamental rights and fairness with no protection for the freedom of individuals: fascism.
I will continue to work with the Oregon delegation in the House and Senate to make sure that ICE and the Trump Administration are held accountable.
I’ll keep working to pass the Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on America’s Streets Act to require federal military and law enforcement agents to display identifying information: their agency and name or badge number.
I’ll fight to pass the Restoring Access for Detainees Act to guarantee people have the right to call family and an attorney when detained.
I will continue to hold ICE accountable for their attempts to mine DMV data to target our communities and ring the alarm bells on the Trump Administration siphoning money meant for veterans to prop up their cruel immigration agenda.
My team and I will continue to work around the clock to reunite Oregonians who have been kidnapped by ICE with their families.
And above all: ICE needs to end its dangerous enforcement operations in Oregon now. I will keep demanding that.
I know folks are angry. I’m furious. I urge you to take care of one another and to continue to SPEAK OUT PEACEFULLY. Calm and non-violent protest is a hallmark of our democracy, and your voice is a powerful tool.
I’ll keep ringing the alarm bells on Trump’s authoritarianism and keep fighting to stop federal agents from attacking our communities.
All my best,
Jeff