"I'm going to head to Portland. I'm going out there. They're not going to bully us. We're going to do the job," Homan said on Fox Business. "We're going to double down and triple down on sanctuary cities. Why? Not because they're blue but because we know they are releasing public safety threats to the streets every day."
"If we can't arrest a bad guy in the jail, then we will go into to community and find them. Or we will do more worksite enforcement and find them at the worksite. And when we do these things and we ramp up that enforcement, we're going to find others. Others who are not a criminal target but they're in the country illegally, we're going to arrest them, too," he continued. "So, what you're going to get, sanctuary cities, is exactly what you don't want: more agents in your communities and more collateral arrests. That's what we're going to do...So, for those who say they're going to keep ICE out of the city, good luck with that!"
Homan's comments stem from the repeated attacks carried out at the facility in South Portland since June 7, the day Antifa-affiliated individuals began an unlawful occupation. More than 21 individuals involved in the occupation have been federally charged for a variety of offenses, including assault on federal police officers with deadly weapons, felony arson, possession of unregistered destructive devices, depredation of government property, and refusing lawful orders.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reported that attacks on ICE agents have increased 700 percent since President Trump took office and enacted mass deportation operations.
Community members have expressed their disdain for the occupation, pleading for the city of Portland to quell the nightly noise disturbances, which they say have resulted in more than 30 days of sleepless nights. Despite residents' repeated 911 calls, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) has done nothing to help many local residents who claim to be suffering because of the illicit occupation, citing short staffing due to the 2020 defund the police movement and sanctuary policies. At least one resident, who was captured in a viral video taken by The Post Millennial, has announced a lawsuit against the city.
Additionally, the ICE facility, located in an upscale southwest waterfront neighborhood, has been the scene of serious clashes between federal police officers and anti-ICE activists, resulting in frequent deployment of tear gas and less lethal crowd control munitions. The City of Portland has stood by its self-designated sanctuary status in the wake of the riots.
