With political engagement comes a need for civility. While these tense times call for action and often are accompanied by anger over various issues, protesters must recognize that lawlessness harms their cause and obfuscates the message they are attempting to share.
Such was the case last week with protests at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Southwest Portland. Activists occupied the building for more than week to decry the actions of the Trump administration along the nation’s southern border, shutting down operations until police cleared the area Thursday morning.
The episode had the desired effect of raising attention for the cause, but in the end it will have the unintended consequence of turning public opinion from sympathy to disapproval. A lack of law and order is anathema to a majority of citizens and, to the chagrin of lawless protesters, reminds many Trump supporters of why they voted for him as president.
The scenario is not unique to Portland. Last week, police in Tacoma waited several days before dismantling a camp outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma — where some detainees from the southern border are being held. And more than 500 protesters were arrested at the U.S. Capitol.
Dissent is a proud American tradition. We are fortunate to have the rights to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances codified in the First Amendment. The quote “dissent is the highest form of patriotism” often is attributed — inaccurately — to Thomas Jefferson, but regardless of who originally uttered the words, they continue to encapsulate the meaning of this country. One of the hallmarks of the United States’ founding was the Boston Tea Party, which was not peaceful but certainly was a protest.
Additionally, we can understand the outcry over a federal policy that has separated children from parents as families attempt to cross the border into the United States. President Trump has ordered a halt to the practice, but removing children as a deterrent to other would-be migrants is an act of unfettered cruelty. Protecting borders and acting humanely are not mutually exclusive activities, and the imprisonment of young children apart from their families has been a shameful episode for this country.
Laws governing immigrants and refugees should be enforced. For those who favor open borders, the goal should be to rally public support for changes to the law. Until those changes occur, we must support the enforcement of those laws so long as they are carried out with compassion and dignity under the parameters set forth by the U.S. Constitution.
So, while we empathize with the need to bring attention to what was an abhorrent policy on the part of the Trump administration, we cannot condone the actions of protesters who occupied a federal building for more than a week in Portland. Lawlessness leads to anarchy rather than support, diminishing the institutions that form the foundation of a civilized and productive society.
We editorially made the same argument in 2016, when armed protesters occupied the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Southern Oregon as part of an absurd argument over public lands. While the Portland occupiers were on the right side of the argument — unlike the Malheur occupiers — their actions are no more acceptable. Nor are they more effective.
Taking protests from words to illegal physical activity simply turns public opinion away from the message that is being delivered. That will be the lesson from last week’s occupation in downtown Portland.
