PORTLAND, Ore. — Activists in the Pacific Northwest are compiling a public database of license plates linked to unmarked vehicles used by immigration authorities, an effort they say is aimed at increasing transparency and reducing fear as immigration enforcement activity escalates in the region according to reporting this week in the Intercept.
The database, assembled by an autonomous group of volunteers, catalogs more than 600 license plates that have been matched to the make and model of vehicles observed during immigration enforcement actions, most of them in and around Portland. The project focuses on vehicles used by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE.
Organizers say the goal is to help community members identify unmarked ICE vehicles and better understand federal enforcement activity in their neighborhoods. One activist involved in the project, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation, said the effort is intended to counter the secrecy surrounding immigration enforcement operations…