Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition services in high demand with Trump administration's ICE arrests and deportations

President Trump’s use of federal immigration officers to arrest people alleged to be in the country without legal status has led to mass arrests, detentions and deportations. Some of those are U.S. citizens, and at least one such man in Milwaukie is suing the federal government over his unlawful detention.

Alyssa Walker Keller is a coordinator for the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC). She says in years past, their statewide hotline, 888-622-1510, might receive about 50 calls in a typical month. In the last two weeks, she says, the number is more like 2,000. Walker Keller says the work of the organization is only possible with volunteers who give their time and expertise to support those targeted by ICE and their families. She joins us to tell us more about the growing demands on PIRC and the role it’s increasingly playing as heightened ICE activity continues.