Federal immigration officers shoot and wound 2 people in Portland, Oregon, authorities say
Portland (AP): Federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in a vehicle outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, a day after an officer shot and killed a driver in Minnesota, authorities said.
The Department of Homeland Security described the vehicle's passenger as “a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who had been involved in a recent shooting in Portland.
When agents identified themselves to the occupants during a “targeted vehicle stop” Thursday afternoon, the driver tried to run them over, the department said in a written statement.
“Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot,” the statement said. “The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”
There was no immediate independent corroboration of that account or of any gang affiliation of the vehicle's occupants. During prior shootings involving agents involved in President Donald Trump's surge of immigration enforcement in US cities, including Wednesday's shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, video evidence cast doubt on the administration's descriptions of what prompted the shootings.
Trump and his allies have consistently blamed Tren de Aragua for being at the root of the violence and illicit drug dealing that plague some US cities.
The shooting escalates tensions in an city that has long had a contentious relationship with President Donald Trump, including Trump's recent, failed effort to deploy National Guard troops in the city.
Trump's decision to send militarised personnel into US cities to conduct immigration enforcement drew long-running nightly protests outside the ICE building in Portland.
According to the the Portland Police bureau, officers initially responded to a report of a shooting outside Adventist Health hospital at about 2:18 pm Thursday.
A few minutes later, police received information that a man who had been shot was asking for help in a residential area a couple of miles away. Officers then responded there and found a man and a woman with gunshot wounds. Officers determined they were injured in the shooting with federal agents, police said.
Their conditions were not immediately known. Portland police said officers applied a tourniquet to one of the wounded. Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said during a Portland city council meeting that "as far as we know both of these individuals are still alive and we are hoping for more positive updates throughout the afternoon.”
At a news conference Thursday night, Portland Police Chief Bob Day said the FBI was leading the investigation and that he had no details about the events that led to the shooting.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and the city council called on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end all operations in Oregon's largest city until a full investigation is completed.
“We stand united as elected officials in saying that we cannot sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts,” a joint statement said. “Portland is not a training ground' for militarized agents, and the full force' threatened by the administration has deadly consequences.”
Wilson also suggested at a news conference that he didn't necessarily believe the federal government's account of the shooting: “There was a time we could take them at their word. That time is long past.”
Democratic State Sen. Kayse Jama, who lives near the shooting scene, said Oregon is a welcoming state — but he told federal agents to leave.
“You are not welcome,” Jama said. "You need to get the hell out of Oregon.”
The city officials said “federal militarization undermines effective, community-based public safety, and it runs counter to the values that define our region. We'll use every legal and legislative tool available to protect our residents' civil and human rights.”
They urged residents to show up with “calm and purpose during this difficult time.”
“We respond with clarity, unity, and a commitment to justice,” the statement said. “We must stand together to protect Portland.”
US Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, urged any protesters to remain peaceful.
“Trump wants to generate riots,” he said in a post on the X social media platform. “Don't take the bait.”
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
