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As a nonpartisan, pro-democracy organization, the League of Women Voters of Clark County is deeply alarmed by the terror that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are inflicting on our community. While we recognize that ICE has a legitimate role in securing our borders and fighting international crime, we are concerned that it has strayed from this mission.
The federal government maintains that it is arresting only immigrants with serious criminal records. However, ICE agents appear to be racially profiling, primarily against our Latino community, and in some cases are arresting United States citizens with no criminal records. Masked agents are using aggressive tactics such as shattering car windows and dragging people away. In one Vancouver incident, a man who did not appear to be resisting arrest was attacked by an ICE dog. In another, video appears to show a man’s leg being run over by an ICE vehicle while he was being detained.
These inhumane actions have left many of our Latino neighbors terrified of leaving home. Businesses, especially those along Fourth Plain Boulevard, are suffering. Families are traumatized.
Immigrants are part of the fabric of our communities. They are our neighbors and co-workers. They deserve due process and fair treatment.
We encourage fellow Clark County residents to tell our elected representatives to stand up for immigrants’ rights and to support the organizations that defend immigrants, such as the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.