Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is the latest to demand transparency from federal immigration enforcement after they arrested a parent outside a Portland school last week.
The Press Herald reports Pingree sent a letter Tuesday asking Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a full accounting of the arrest, including their justification for making an arrest near a school.
An ICE spokesperson said the individual was arrested on a domestic violence charge and then released from jail a day before they were detained.
Speaking with our info partners at CBS 13 news this week, Rep. Pingree said the manner and location of the operation was questionable:
“I certainly understand there are individuals that ICE needs to pick up. They also could have detained this person when they were released from a jail facility. So, choosing to be at a school just seemed to me like a bad choice.”
The parent was detained by a group of men in “police” vests who were driving unmarked vehicles and declined to tell a school administrator who they worked for.
The Portland City Council condemned the way officers arrested the parent in a resolution Monday night.
