Oregon Attorney Dan Rayfield. File image.
SALEM, OR – Oregon Attorney General, Democrat Dan Rayfield, is being joined by three Portland area district attorneys in an attempt to pressure the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security regarding the federal response to ICE protests.
In a letter, Rayfield, Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez, Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton, and Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth are demanding the end of what they call “unlawful and reckless actions by federal officers operating in Oregon.”
The group point to what they believe is a months-long pattern of excessive force by DHS personnel — including incidents where federal officers used munitions that struck Portland Police Bureau officers and Oregon State Police officers, and tear-gas deployments that endangered residents and other law enforcement. Oregon officials have also documented the same trend outside of Portland, where federal agents have escalated basic encounters into volatile situations that put residents, officers and bystanders at risk.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, you have to follow the law and our Constitution,” wrote Rayfield. “We are asking the federal government to take reasonable steps towards prevention and de-escalation. We are putting them on notice that we are watching and will hold them accountable if they do not follow the law.”
“Law enforcement, federal or local, has a responsibility to accomplish their mission while ensuring everyone’s safety,” said Vasquez. “Gratuitous force has no place at any level of law enforcement.”
“I am proud to join my fellow Portland area district attorneys and the Oregon Attorney General in a combined effort to protect the rights of Oregonians,” said Barton. “Pursuant to Oregon law, state and local law enforcement officials are not involved with federal immigration matters. However, when we hear concerning reports of excessive use of force and accounts of Oregonians who feel unsafe in their own communities, we are obligated to speak up.”
“I am deeply concerned by the tactics federal agents are using in their immigration arrests,” added Wentworth. “If these tactics were used by local law enforcement to apprehend non-violent offenders, there would be public outrage and rightfully so.”
One specific example given in the letter is the October 2025 case of federal agents in an unmarked van who reportedly stopped a group of teenagers at gunpoint at a Dutch Bros drive-thru in Hillsboro, prompting multiple 911 calls from concerned community members. Another example given was the case of a 17-year-old high school student and U.S. citizen who arrested by federal agents in McMinnville. In that instance, the agents allegedly broke a car window to get to the teen while he was on his lunch break from school.
In the letter, Rayfield, Vasquez, Barton, and Wentworth claim that federal officers repeatedly used disproportionate and unjustified force against other, local law-enforcement personnel.
“These are not normal circumstances,” the letter states. “The volume and severity of force used by DHS officers in Oregon over the last six months has eroded trust, jeopardized public safety, and undermined the cooperative relationships that effective law enforcement depends on.”
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Tim Lantz
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