Abolish ICE protesters have mobilized outside Portland, Oregon, City Hall to protest a ballot measure that would withdraw a state law hindering law enforcement from asking people about immigration status, The Oregonian reported.
At least 10 police officers showed up to manage the protests on Immigration and Customs Enforcement, standing between the protesters and City Hall as they chanted "Abolish ICE" and held signs saying "smash fascism" and "RIP ICE."
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said he expects the protests to be peaceful, but Portland has had trouble with violence breaking out in the past, leading the mayor to introduce a protest ordinance that would "restrict where groups who have clashed in the past may gather and demonstrate," according to the Portland Mercury.
Portland journalist Andy Ngo characterized the protests as "Extreme far-left groups descending on downtown Portland tonight for election day."
Mayor Wheeler said Portland Police reached out to the demonstration groups, but the groups did not initially respond and have not applied for a permit.
Abolish ICE PDX told The Oregonian that the group didn't agree to cooperate with police and was "disappointed" that the police wouldn't discuss officers' use of flashbang grenades.
Here's a statement from the protest groups pulled from ItsGoingDown.org, and shared by Ngo on Twitter:
"We will continue to pressure our government to abolish ICE using a diversity of tactics and any means necessary, because what immigrant families are experiencing today, closely resembles life in Nazi Germany. This has gone on too long and we must stop it before it's too late!"
The ballot measure in question is Measure 105, which, according to the Oregonian, would "withdraw a 31-year-old state law that forbids law enforcement from inquiring about a person's immigration status or apprehending them unless the person is suspected of a criminal offense."
TheBlaze has reached out to the Portland Police Bureau for comment, but a call to the department has not been returned as of publication of this story.
