Read this tale in English:Are Oregonians being singled out by immigration officials? Watch out for false information on social media.
Numerous messages on social media have informed Oregan residents that immigration agents from the federal government have visited a public university, shown up in local businesses, and questioned people who were traveling by public transportation in the days since President Donald Trump returned to office.
According to local officials, none of this appears to be true.
Since Trump pledged to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history, certain immigrant communities around the nation have been on the defensive. This threat, coupled with the unsubstantiated ability to spread information through social media platforms, has caused a noticeable fear among some undocumented immigrants who fear deportation or separation from family members who are US citizens.
According to community organizations, they are concerned about the rise in activity reports from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) in Oregon, and at least one individual has been arrested at home rather than in a public place. However, immigration lawyers demand that the public refrain from drawing hasty conclusions and refrain from sharing unverified information that could cause more harm than good.
“Hey, we’re using this to help the people,” said Pedro Sosa, head of Oregon Project Voice, an immigration rights organization funded by the American Friends Service Committee. There is a lot of uncertainty, fear, and lack of information.
TriMet has denied a claim made in a Facebook advertisement that three students of secondary school age were questioned by ICE agents at the Clackamas Town Center train station.
TriMet Portavoz Roberta Altstadt stated that the personnel investigating the claim did not find any evidence to support it. According to the state law, TriMet does not work with ICE, and Altstadt urges anyone who has an experience, witnesses, or heard about ICE’s activities on TriMet’s property to file a complaint right once.
Altstadt stated that TriMet did not receive any information or direct communication from the person who posted the information on Facebook all night, nor did it receive any information about ICE agents riding trains in Clackamas Town Center or anywhere else.
According to TriMet, the only consultation he received came from someone who shared the publication and stated that no actual proof had been shared.
Altstadt stated, “I think their intention is to instill fear in the community.”
The woman who was public on Facebook did not reply to a Facebook message about the redaccin, and neither a text message nor a call to a phone number that appeared with the woman’s name were immediately answered by my mother. It appears that the woman has deleted her Facebook page.
On the previous day, a Reddit user reported that trucks carrying ICE agents were parked on Portland State University’s property. Later, the publication was discontinued.
Christina Williams, the university’s president, stated that the information was inaccurate and that the staff had not seen any ICE events on campus. In a public message released that same day, university president Ann Cudd informed the community that staff members do not approve of immigration-related activities on campus and that all legal precautions should be taken to protect students.
The company executives also distanced themselves from social media posts claiming that they had been questioned or detained by customers.
A message circulated on Facebook and Instagram last week claiming that there were ICE agents at WinCo Foods, located at 82 Avenue Sureste, close to Happy Valley.
One WinCo employee, who did not provide their name, denied that the incident had occurred in the store before they picked up the phone. Numerous comments made to WinCo’s corporate office and its corporate communications director went unanswered.
An ICE spokesperson informed the reporters that this was not an encounter with the US Department of Immigration and Aduanas.
On the other hand, a Reddit post from the previous week included a screenshot of a post that appeared to have started on Facebook and claimed to have been posted by WinCo and the supermarket La Tapatia de Gresham.
An employee at La Tapatia, who would not provide his name, denies the ICE’s presence and sends a message to The Oregonian/OregonLive via the company’s Facebook page.
The brief communication did not specifically address the accusations, but it did hold the public accountable for the false information being spread.
Social media is a powerful tool that allows for communication across borders, but it can also cause chaos if not used carefully. We will undoubtedly spread rumors that could raise concerns. We always verify the information before sharing it.
My comments have not received a response from Tapatia.
According to Sosa of Oregon Project Voice, people should exercise caution when sharing or resharing information on social media. I would advise the public to trust the information if it comes from a community organization, for example, but to exercise caution if it comes from an unknown source.
He mentioned that his organization has a direct phone number, 888-622-1510, where people can send pictures or videos together with other details, including location, time, and date, so that the program may send a response team.
Frank Garc, the executive director of the Immigration Counseling Service, a provider of legal services without fees, offers a similar orientation in the event that someone is a member of an immigration network in public or at work.
The people who feel comfortable gathering information must make sure that their phone’s sound and voicemail are turned on, try to get the agent’s name, placa number, and agency, describe the time, date, and location, and refrain from sharing information about themselves or their concerns with the agents.
Garc also insists that people should not draw hasty conclusions or share unverified information on immigration networks in order to help safeguard the safety of the immigrant community.
According to Garc in a communication, these rumors have the potential to cause panic and cause immigrant communities to live in darkness. Before disseminating the information, we must be aware of its sources and reliability.
Based on data from the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan group of experts, it is estimated that 120,000 undocumented immigrants live in Oregon, making up 2.9% of the state’s population. The majority of the state’s undocumented immigrants come from Mexico.
According to Sosa, the ICE is indeed making arrests in Oregon, but these are being handled by rumors meant to reassure the community. stated that his program, which arranges response teams that move during and after immigration red tape, has not had to send a team since Trump assumed the position.
According to Sosa, their organization is aware of at least one arrest in Salem, when ICE agents showed up at a family’s home on the fourth and took the father, who is currently being held at the Northeast Detention Center in Tacoma and receiving legal assistance. The family’s other members were put in touch with the social services.
“It is very important that the community learn about their constitutional rights,” he said.
Additionally, it should be noted that the Department of Justice of Oregon may present the Lnea Directa de Promesa de Santuario for prior violations of the state laws of Santuario that hinder local officials’ cooperation in applying the immigration law. Public agencies are also required to provide information when they receive a request from a federal agency for the application of the immigration law.
Since Trump took office, the Commission on Criminal Justice has received four reports, two of which included the lists of governmental agencies and law enforcement agencies that have received a request from a federal agency to apply the immigration law. In the four requests, none of the local agencies assisted federal employees with their requests.
As the authorities have 30 days to inform us, we don’t know how much more we could have, said Kelly Officer, the Criminal Justice Commission’s director of investigations.
Beth Slovic made a contribution to this article.
To translate the original English content into Spanish, artificial intelligence is used. A Hispanic-speaking periodist revised the text.
— Yesenia Amaro is an investigative journalist who focuses on communities of color. Do you have information about immigration history, deportations, or public assistance programs for immigrants in Oregon? Contact us at [email protected] or 503-221-4395.
