Anonymity serves to protect ICE agents from accountability

By Owen Johnson

Armed officers with guns and masks have swarmed blue states in a blatant attempt to bully and intimidate anyone who dares to exercise their Constitutional rights. They are empowered by the support of the White House, but even more so by their anonymity.

While the political climate in our country has been tense, the past few months have seen overarching dread solidify into tangible threats to public safety and welfare. 

Nothing signifies this shift more than the response to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol murders in Minnesota. There have been national walkouts and protests, but a direct course of action will be required before change occurs.

Over the past three months, Minnesota has been the focus of the federal campaign that deployed 3,000 agents equipped with assault rifles and military equipment, allegedly to detain illegal immigrants and investigate public works fraud.

The result has been disastrous, with the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti illustrating the dangers of allowing a heavily armed and reportedly barely trained militia to have federal immunity and anonymity.

Now, Oregon has found itself in the crosshairs.

NBC reported that a former White House official confirmed that our state would be the focus of the next campaign.

The impacts of this are beginning to be felt. On Jan. 30 in Eugene, participants in a general strike protested against the increase in ICE activity outside of the Eugene federal building. ICE agents deployed chemical weapons and shot pepper bullets into the crowd. Reporters from the student newspaper were targeted despite identifying themselves as the press.

Their motive was clear: target anyone who has the ability to hold them accountable.

It may only be a matter of time before this issue reaches Jackson County.

On Jan. 30, I saw pictures of streams of Ashland High School students walking out of class and down to the Plaza. When I heard that ICE had been deployed to break up the protest in Eugene, my pride in our city shifted into fear and anger.

I had been a part of similar protests growing up as a student at AHS. At the time, it was unthinkable to me that those protests could be met with force from federal agents.

While it may be tempting to be unproblematic in the face of threats of violence, this is the desired effect. The most effective form of counter-protest is for local communities to monitor ICE activity.

The power local publications hold is concerning to the government, as The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned the media to “tone down their rhetoric,” after several publications criticized their state sanctioned domestic terrorism. It is important to remember that it is not illegal to publish the names and faces of local ICE agents in the newspaper, provided that the information is truthful and not published alongside a call to action.

It is not impossible to imagine agents coming into Oregon from out of state and passing through or staying within our city. These same agents forced Salem to declare a state of emergency after increasing concerns surrounding unlawful behavior from ICE agents in the area.

It would be easy to establish a tip line to platform those who have footage of agents. Without civilians taking it upon themselves to film ICE activity, the DHS explanation that federal agent Jonathan Ross was struck by Renee Good’s car prior to her fatal shooting would be impossible to disprove. Blatant lies like these demonstrate the importance of accurate reporting.

A step further would be to work with other outlets within Oregon to track and identify ICE agents. One of the major protections afforded to ICE is their anonymity, which serves to protect them from scrutiny.

This is why it is morally imperative for local communities to investigate ICE agents and publish their identities. The First Amendment operates on the assumption that a free press will function as a check to tyrannical government.

Inaction would be a betrayal to the responsibility the press holds. There is not an aspect of local journalism more valuable than protecting and informing the community that they serve.

While I would hope that Ashland would be exempt from violent federal encroachment, failing to take precautionary measures feels naive and unproductive.

Owen Johnson, currently attending the University of Oregon as a journalism major, grew up in Ashland.