Man stopped by ICE agents near Hillsboro courthouse files federal suit

PORTLAND — A Washington County man on Wednesday filed a federal suit against the United States, alleging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents unlawfully detained him outside the county courthouse in 2017.

Isidro Andrade-Tafolla, who was with his wife, said agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement followed him out of the courthouse in Hillsboro after he attended a hearing in a driving under the influence of intoxicants case, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

He says as he walked to his truck, an unmarked minivan parked in front of it and agents did not give their identity as they demanded to know his. After more agents arrived, showing him a photo they said was of him, one said Andrade-Tafolla wasn’t the person they sought and they left, according to the lawsuit.

ICE Acting Field Office Director Elizabeth Godfrey of Portland denied allegations of racial profiling in a letter to federal lawmakers, writing that the officers identified themselves as ICE agents and never tried to detain Andrade-Tafolla.

The ACLU of Oregon filed the lawsuit on Andrade-Tafolla’s behalf, alleging wrongful detention and seeking damages for humiliation, emotional distress and psychological harm.

“The unlawful detention of Isidro Andrade-Tafolla is one of many that Black and brown Oregonians have experienced,” said Leland Baxter-Neal, staff attorney for ACLU of Oregon.

The ACLU of Oregon says they have documented civil immigration enforcement activity in state courthouses in Lane, Marion, Multnomah, Clackamas, Umatilla, Morrow, Sherman, Gilliam, Wheeler, Wasco, Hood River, Josephine, Lincoln, Clatsop, Washington, and Yamhill counties.

In November, Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters enacted a new rule that bans agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from carrying out arrests inside or in the close vicinity of Oregon’s state courthouses unless the agents first receive warrants from a judge.