Rallygoers protest against ‘appalling' ICE arrest of asylum seeker
PORTLAND, Ore. () — A rally was held in Vancouver Wednesday evening in protest against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest that happened in Portland earlier this week.
A woman was seeking asylum at a Portland immigration courthouse on Monday when .
Budget cuts threaten Oregon Outdoor School program
OJM, a pseudonym she uses for safety reasons, is a 24-year-old transgender woman from Mexico, where she was abducted and raped because of her gender identity and sexual orientation 'at the hands of a dangerous cartel,' said the Portland-based Innnovation Law Lab, representing her. They said she fled to the United States for safety.
The law group said she was processed into Tacoma on Monday night. However, they haven't been granted access to her since her transfer.
The Innovation Law Lab argued ICE used 'deceptive and unethical practices' to detain OJM and strip her of her due process rights. They said a federal judge has approved their petition to find out why ICE arrested her and they hope to learn those details soon.
A small group of protesters gathered in downtown Vancouver to show their support, chanting, 'Immigrants are welcome here.'
'It's so appalling because when we heard about the ICE detention of the young trans woman from Mexico who was just following the rules,' said Rebecca Ketih, who helped organize the rally.
The Department of Homeland Security told KOIN 6 News in a statement on Tuesday that they're doing what they've been told to do. DHS said in part, 'ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been.'
'It's anyone with brown skin. And this young lady was innocent,' said Carolyn Fu, another rallygoer at the Vancouver demonstration.
Fu said she is originally from Hawaii and knows what it's like for her people to be discriminated against. Even still, she said the arrest has sent shockwaves through the community and that people are ready to fight.
'Today's rally is going to wrap up, but it's not going to stop. We're continuing. We're going to continue to fight and, and make sure that our representatives are going to look for her and stand up for her, no matter what it takes,' Fu said.
Suspect identified in Battle Ground double homicide
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) commented on the woman's ICE arrest, saying on Tuesday that he is 'appalled' at what happened.
'As the son of parents who fled Nazi Germany for refuge in America, I'm appalled by Donald Trump's goons arresting a woman in Portland just when she sought refuge in our country from sexual abuse by drug traffickers in Mexico,' in a post on X.
KOIN 6 reached out to other Pacific Northwest lawmakers for comment about the arrest and we will post updates if we hear back.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
After decades in the US, Iranians arrested in Trump's deportation drive
Mandonna 'Donna' Kashanian lived in the United States for 47 years, married a U.S. citizen and raised their daughter. She was gardening in the yard of her New Orleans home when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers handcuffed and took her away, her family said. Kashanian arrived in 1978 on a student visa and applied for asylum, fearing retaliation for her father's support of the U.S.-backed shah. She lost her bid, but she was allowied to remain with her husband and child if she checked in regularly with immigration officials, her husband and daughter said. She complied, once checking in from South Carolina during Hurricane Katrina. She is now being held at an immigration detention center in Basile, Louisiana, while her family tries to get information. Other Iranians are also getting arrested by immigration authorities after decades in the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security won't say how many people they've arrested, but U.S. military strikes on Iran have fueled fears that there is more to come. 'Some level of vigilance, of course, makes sense, but what it seems like ICE has done is basically give out an order to round up as many Iranians as you can, whether or not they're linked to any threat and then arrest them and deport them, which is very concerning,' said Ryan Costello, policy director of the National Iranian American Council, an advocacy group. Homeland Security did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on Kashanian's case but have been touting arrests of Iranians. The department announced the arrests of at least 11 Iranians on immigration violations during the weekend of the U.S. missile strikes. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said, without elaborating, that it arrested seven Iranians at a Los Angeles-area address that 'has been repeatedly used to harbor illegal entrants linked to terrorism." The department "has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Biden's fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,' spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said of the 11 arrests. She didn't offer any evidence of terrorist or extremist ties. Her comment on parole programs referred to President Joe Biden's expanded legal pathways to entry, which his successor, Donald Trump, shut down. Russell Milne, Kashanian's husband, said his wife is not a threat. Her appeal for asylum was complicated because of 'events in her early life," he explained. A court found an earlier marriage of hers to be fraudulent. But over four decades, Kashanian, 64, built a life in Louisiana. The couple met when she was bartending as a student in the late 1980s. They married and had a daughter. She volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, filmed Persian cooking tutorials on YouTube and was a grandmother figure to the children next door. The fear of deportation always hung over the family, Milne said, but he said his wife did everything that was being asked of her. 'She's meeting her obligations," Milne said. "She's retirement age. She's not a threat. Who picks up a grandmother?' While Iranians have been crossing the border illegally for years, especially since 2021, they have faced little risk of being deported to their home countries due to severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. That seems to no longer be the case. The Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, including Iranians, to countries other than their own in an attempt to circumvent diplomatic hurdles with governments that won't take their people back. During Trump's second term, countries including El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama have taken back noncitizens from the U.S. The administration has asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for several deportations to South Sudan, a war-ravaged country with which it has no ties, after the justices allowed deportations to countries other than those noncitizens came from. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested Iranians 1,700 times at the Mexican border from October 2021 through November 2024, according to the most recent public data available. The Homeland Security Department reported that about 600 Iranians overstayed visas as business or exchange visitors, tourists and students in the 12-month period through September 2023, the most recent data reports. Iran was one of 12 countries subject to a U.S. travel ban that took effect this month. Some fear ICE's growing deportation arrests will be another blow. In Oregon, an Iranian man was detained by immigration agents this past week while driving to the gym. He was picked up roughly two weeks before he was scheduled for a check-in at ICE offices in Portland, according to court documents filed by his attorney, Michael Purcell. The man, identified in court filings as S.F., has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years, and his wife and two children are U.S. citizens. S.F. applied for asylum in the U.S. in the early 2000s, but his application was denied in 2002. His appeal failed but the government did not deport him and he continued to live in the country for decades, according to court documents. Due to 'changed conditions' in Iran, S.F. would face 'a vastly increased danger of persecution' if he were to be deported, Purcell wrote in his petition. 'These circumstances relate to the recent bombing by the United States of Iranian nuclear facilities, thus creating a de facto state of war between the United States and Iran.' S.F.'s long residency in the U.S., his conversion to Christianity and the fact that his wife and children are U.S. citizens 'sharply increase the possibility of his imprisonment in Iran, or torture or execution,' he said. Similarly, Kashanian's daughter said she is worried what will happen to her mother. 'She tried to do everything right,' Kaitlynn Milne said.
2 hours ago
After decades in the US, Iranians arrested in Trump's deportation drive
Mandonna 'Donna' Kashanian lived in the United States for 47 years, married a U.S. citizen and raised their daughter. She was gardening in the yard of her New Orleans home when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers handcuffed and took her away, her family said. Kashanian arrived in 1978 on a student visa and applied for asylum, fearing retaliation for her father's support of the U.S.-backed shah. She lost her bid, but she was allowied to remain with her husband and child if she checked in regularly with immigration officials, her husband and daughter said. She complied, once checking in from South Carolina during Hurricane Katrina. She is now being held at an immigration detention center in Basile, Louisiana, while her family tries to get information. Other Iranians are also getting arrested by immigration authorities after decades in the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security won't say how many people they've arrested, but U.S. military strikes on Iran have fueled fears that there is more to come. 'Some level of vigilance, of course, makes sense, but what it seems like ICE has done is basically give out an order to round up as many Iranians as you can, whether or not they're linked to any threat and then arrest them and deport them, which is very concerning,' said Ryan Costello, policy director of the National Iranian American Council, an advocacy group. Homeland Security did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on Kashanian's case but have been touting arrests of Iranians. The department announced the arrests of at least 11 Iranians on immigration violations during the weekend of the U.S. missile strikes. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said, without elaborating, that it arrested seven Iranians at a Los Angeles-area address that 'has been repeatedly used to harbor illegal entrants linked to terrorism." The department "has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Biden's fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,' spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said of the 11 arrests. She didn't offer any evidence of terrorist or extremist ties. Her comment on parole programs referred to President Joe Biden's expanded legal pathways to entry, which his successor, Donald Trump, shut down. Russell Milne, Kashanian's husband, said his wife is not a threat. Her appeal for asylum was complicated because of 'events in her early life," he explained. A court found an earlier marriage of hers to be fraudulent. But over four decades, Kashanian, 64, built a life in Louisiana. The couple met when she was bartending as a student in the late 1980s. They married and had a daughter. She volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, filmed Persian cooking tutorials on YouTube and was a grandmother figure to the children next door. The fear of deportation always hung over the family, Milne said, but he said his wife did everything that was being asked of her. 'She's meeting her obligations," Milne said. "She's retirement age. She's not a threat. Who picks up a grandmother?' While Iranians have been crossing the border illegally for years, especially since 2021, they have faced little risk of being deported to their home countries due to severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. That seems to no longer be the case. The Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, including Iranians, to countries other than their own in an attempt to circumvent diplomatic hurdles with governments that won't take their people back. During Trump's second term, countries including El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama have taken back noncitizens from the U.S. The administration has asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for several deportations to South Sudan, a war-ravaged country with which it has no ties, after the justices allowed deportations to countries other than those noncitizens came from. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested Iranians 1,700 times at the Mexican border from October 2021 through November 2024, according to the most recent public data available. The Homeland Security Department reported that about 600 Iranians overstayed visas as business or exchange visitors, tourists and students in the 12-month period through September 2023, the most recent data reports. Iran was one of 12 countries subject to a U.S. travel ban that took effect this month. Some fear ICE's growing deportation arrests will be another blow. In Oregon, an Iranian man was detained by immigration agents this past week while driving to the gym. He was picked up roughly two weeks before he was scheduled for a check-in at ICE offices in Portland, according to court documents filed by his attorney, Michael Purcell. The man, identified in court filings as S.F., has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years, and his wife and two children are U.S. citizens. S.F. applied for asylum in the U.S. in the early 2000s, but his application was denied in 2002. His appeal failed but the government did not deport him and he continued to live in the country for decades, according to court documents. Due to 'changed conditions' in Iran, S.F. would face 'a vastly increased danger of persecution' if he were to be deported, Purcell wrote in his petition. 'These circumstances relate to the recent bombing by the United States of Iranian nuclear facilities, thus creating a de facto state of war between the United States and Iran.' S.F.'s long residency in the U.S., his conversion to Christianity and the fact that his wife and children are U.S. citizens 'sharply increase the possibility of his imprisonment in Iran, or torture or execution,' he said. Similarly, Kashanian's daughter said she is worried what will happen to her mother.
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
After decades in the US, Iranians arrested in Trump's deportation drive
Mandonna 'Donna' Kashanian lived in the United States for 47 years, married a U.S. citizen and raised their daughter. She was gardening in the yard of her New Orleans home when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers handcuffed and took her away, her family said. Kashanian arrived in 1978 on a student visa and applied for asylum, fearing retaliation for her father's support of the U.S.-backed shah. She lost her bid, but she was allowied to remain with her husband and child if she checked in regularly with immigration officials, her husband and daughter said. She complied, once checking in from South Carolina during Hurricane Katrina. She is now being held at an immigration detention center in Basile, Louisiana, while her family tries to get information. Other Iranians are also getting arrested by immigration authorities after decades in the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security won't say how many people they've arrested, but U.S. military strikes on Iran have fueled fears that there is more to come. 'Some level of vigilance, of course, makes sense, but what it seems like ICE has done is basically give out an order to round up as many Iranians as you can, whether or not they're linked to any threat and then arrest them and deport them, which is very concerning,' said Ryan Costello, policy director of the National Iranian American Council, an advocacy group. Homeland Security did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on Kashanian's case but have been touting arrests of Iranians. The department announced the arrests of at least 11 Iranians on immigration violations during the weekend of the U.S. missile strikes. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said, without elaborating, that it arrested seven Iranians at a Los Angeles-area address that 'has been repeatedly used to harbor illegal entrants linked to terrorism.' The department 'has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Biden's fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,' spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said of the 11 arrests. She didn't offer any evidence of terrorist or extremist ties. Her comment on parole programs referred to President Joe Biden's expanded legal pathways to entry, which his successor, Donald Trump, shut down . Russell Milne, Kashanian's husband, said his wife is not a threat. Her appeal for asylum was complicated because of 'events in her early life,' he explained. A court found an earlier marriage of hers to be fraudulent. But over four decades, Kashanian, 64, built a life in Louisiana. The couple met when she was bartending as a student in the late 1980s. They married and had a daughter. She volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, filmed Persian cooking tutorials on YouTube and was a grandmother figure to the children next door. The fear of deportation always hung over the family, Milne said, but he said his wife did everything that was being asked of her. 'She's meeting her obligations,' Milne said. 'She's retirement age. She's not a threat. Who picks up a grandmother?' While Iranians have been crossing the border illegally for years, especially since 2021, they have faced little risk of being deported to their home countries due to severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. That seems to no longer be the case. The Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, including Iranians, to countries other than their own in an attempt to circumvent diplomatic hurdles with governments that won't take their people back. During Trump's second term, countries including El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama have taken back noncitizens from the U.S. The administration has asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for several deportations to South Sudan , a war-ravaged country with which it has no ties, after the justices allowed deportations to countries other than those noncitizens came from. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested Iranians 1,700 times at the Mexican border from October 2021 through November 2024, according to the most recent public data available. The Homeland Security Department reported that about 600 Iranians overstayed visas as business or exchange visitors, tourists and students in the 12-month period through September 2023, the most recent data reports. Iran was one of 12 countries subject to a U.S. travel ban that took effect this month. Some fear ICE's growing deportation arrests will be another blow. In Oregon, an Iranian man was detained by immigration agents this past week while driving to the gym. He was picked up roughly two weeks before he was scheduled for a check-in at ICE offices in Portland, according to court documents filed by his attorney, Michael Purcell. The man, identified in court filings as S.F., has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years, and his wife and two children are U.S. citizens. S.F. applied for asylum in the U.S. in the early 2000s, but his application was denied in 2002. His appeal failed but the government did not deport him and he continued to live in the country for decades, according to court documents. Due to 'changed conditions' in Iran, S.F. would face 'a vastly increased danger of persecution' if he were to be deported, Purcell wrote in his petition. 'These circumstances relate to the recent bombing by the United States of Iranian nuclear facilities, thus creating a de facto state of war between the United States and Iran.' S.F.'s long residency in the U.S., his conversion to Christianity and the fact that his wife and children are U.S. citizens 'sharply increase the possibility of his imprisonment in Iran, or torture or execution,' he said. Similarly, Kashanian's daughter said she is worried what will happen to her mother. 'She tried to do everything right,' Kaitlynn Milne said. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
