Letter from Councilor Green and Councilor Morillo to Mayor Keith Wilson and City Administrator Lee

Date: February 26, 2026

To: Mayor Keith Wilson and City Administrator Raymond Lee

From: Portland City Councilors Mitch Green (District 4) and Angelita Morillo (District 3) and endorsing organizations

Subject: Detention Facility Nuisance Rulemaking

Dear Mayor Wilson and City Administrator Lee,

We write to you today as policymakers and advocates, and as representatives of a Portland that stands with immigrants, with our Black and brown neighbors, and against the mass deportation machine operated by ICE.

The repeated deployment of tear gas and other munitions by federal agents at the South Waterfront ICE facility has left physical and psychological scars on our city. Peaceful protesters were assaulted with chemical agents for exercising their First Amendment rights. Residents of nearby apartments have had to tape their windows shut to keep the gas out of their homes. An elementary school was forced to relocate to avoid exposing children to health risks.

While we recognize that the City has limited authority to constrain the federal government, we refuse to accept that as a reason not to use the power we do have. The Detention Facility Impact Fee ordinance, which was introduced to Council in November, and passed by Council in December, represents a tangible and powerful tool to hold detention facilities accountable. Labor and immigrant rights groups across this city have seized on this policy as a central demand because it proves that our local government can push back against harms inflicted on our community.

We want to thank you, Mayor Wilson, and the administration, for responding promptly to our letter on January 27th urging the administration to begin work on the rulemaking process for the Detention Fee. Moving from ordinance to an enforceable rule is a complex and difficult undertaking, and we appreciate your efforts to get this right.

We want to underscore that the nuisance provisions of the Detention Facility Impact Fee are among the most important and sensitive parts of this policy. Any rule adopted by the Mayor, and the City Administrator to implement this code will shape how the City responds to real-world harms, how enforcement works, and how well the policy holds up in court. Because of those stakes, this now ongoing rulemaking effort requires deliberate and careful work.

For that reason, any nuisance rule developed under this policy should:

• Define key terms, how and when a violation occurs, any culpability standards, as well as a fee structure that scales to the harm or volume of the violation.
• Justify and inform rule elements with technical and scientific expertise, especially where public health and environmental effects are involved.
• Include opportunities for community input so that the rule and the fee schedule reflect lived experience and real, quantifiable harms.
• Be accompanied by a staffing plan to ensure investigation and enforcement can take place immediately after the rule is published.

When rules are written without a clear factual basis or without the benefit of relevant expertise, they often fail. They become difficult to enforce, vulnerable to legal challenge, and costly for the City to defend. When rules are grounded in documented harms, informed by experts, and shaped by community experience, they are far more likely to work as intended and withstand scrutiny.

The development of this rule requires a difficult but achievable Goldilocks approach: The Mayor and City Administrator must move with urgency while also building a rule that can withstand legal scrutiny. This is a difficult thing to balance and is part of the work of serving Portlanders.

We look forward to working with the administration to ensure that this Council policy is successfully implemented for the betterment of the city.

Sincerely,

Councilor Mitch Green - District 4

Councilor Angelita Morillo - District 3

Endorsing organizations: The Cottonwood School, Sierra Club - Oregon Chapter, 1000 Friends of Oregon, Sunrise Movement PDX, Breach Collective, Braided River Campaign, 350PDX, Oregon for Human Rights, Portland Jobs with Justice, Oregon Working Families Party, Federal Unionists Network PDX, Northwest Workers' Justice Project, Union of United Staff Affiliated with Teamsters Local 223, City of Portland Professional Workers Union, Communications Workers of America Local 7901, Portland DSA.