Reports out of Portland, OR, have been a little disturbing over the last day: reports of anonymous Federal officers arresting protesters for little or no reason. Professor Steve Vladeck explains why they appear to be Customs & Borders Protection officers:
It also appears that the federal government is using Customs and Border Protection officers in Portland—which, like so much of the United States, lies less than 100 miles from an international border (yes, the Pacific Ocean counts). Although federal immigration authorities are generally nationwide, there are a few specific authorities (and some important constitutional exceptions) that come into play “along the border.” Simply put, there are a ton of statutory authorities that allow the federal government to use a wide array of federal law enforcement officers to enforce federal law (including destruction or vandalism of federal property). Those authorities don’t usually require officers to stay in their regulatory lanes (for instance, immigration officers can arrest for any federal offense committed in their presence). There’s a good bet that that’s at least part of what’s going on here. And although many of those authorities extend only to offenses against (and on) federal property, if a federal officer personally observes such an offense, it is not controversial that he can arrest the offender even if the arrest takes place on a public street. [Lawfare]
And in conclusion?
There’s definitely reason to be alarmed about what’s going on in Portland. And even if the federal officers are technically complying with the relevant statutes, there’s something more than just unseemly about camouflaged officers who refuse to identify themselves or their employer purporting to conduct arrests on the streets of American cities. Whether these officers are in fact abusing their authorities or not remains to be seen, but either answer would be deeply troubling.
I absolutely concur. This is how to deepen the abyss between people who are worried about systemic, covert, and overt racism, and those who think when there’s no protests then all is well.
It’s not, of course. It’s embarrassing that someone high up in government thinks that’s true. At this point, all 330 million of us should be aware that there are problems that absolutely need to be addressed.
The Portland actions are little more than terrorist actions in and of themselves.
Question: How do I tell the difference between them and common thugs?
Answer: I don’t. So assume the latter and proceed accordingly.
