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Candlelight vigil held outside ICE facility in Portland as protests continue
PORTLAND, Ore. () — A candlelight vigil was held outside the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Wednesday evening amid ongoing protests.
The gathering outside the federal building on South Macadam Avenue is to honor people who have been arrested by ICE. A community altar was created with flowers, photos and artwork as part of the event, which began at 6 p.m. Wednesday evening.
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This comes after ICE arrested earlier this month, including a business owner with no criminal record, Moises Sotelo.
Several other by ICE agents outside a Portland Immigration Courthouse this month.
Mosies' daughter, Alondra Sotelo Garcia, told KOIN 6 News that her father is a fixture in Oregon wine country, having spent two decades working there. After he was taken on his way to work in Yamhill County, Alondra traced his location to the ICE facility in Portland.
The family briefly made contact with Moises before he was moved again. The family followed his phone GPS, which tracked him to Tacoma, Washington.
Alondra said Moises was subsequently moved to an ICE facility in Florence, Arizona. However, he was then moved back to the Tacoma ICE detention center shortly thereafter.
Despite the ongoing situation, Alondra told KOIN 6 News on Wednesday that her father is in good health and good spirits.
'He's making friends. He says the food is not the best, but it's food nonetheless, you know,' Alondra said. 'I'm really thankful that at the very least, he- he's not complaining about the- the conditions there.'
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Alondra said their family has been frustrated since they often get little to no notice when Moises is moved. However, she and her family have been able to speak with Moises every day. And they are able to visit him three times a week.
Moises is remaining his hopeful self, Alondra said. However, while he is still in ICE custody, his family are working with lawyers to get him out.
For weeks, protests have taken place outside the Portland ICE facility. Occasionally, they've become violent, with dozens of arrests taking place over multiple nights. Property damage has been a semi-regular occurrence, as have federal agents deploying pepper balls and flash-bangs onto protesters.
On , pepper balls and flash-bangs were once again deployed by federal agents late into the evening outside the federal facility in South Portland. Hours earlier, two miles away at City Hall, protesters made their voices heard to city councilors discussing Portland's sanctuary city status.
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