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Kaarin Knudson joined Gov. Tina Kotek and 30 other Oregon mayors who signed the letter, calling for an immediate pause on enforcement activity until the completion of investigations into federal officers’ use of force in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

This story has been updated to include a comment from Mayor Kaarin Knudson.

Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson is among the 31 Oregon mayors who want federal immigration enforcement activity in the state to immediately pause. 

Gov. Tina Kotek and 31 Oregon mayors sent a letter to the Trump administration asking federal immigration enforcement to stop during the investigation into two deadly shootings of U.S. citizens in Minneapolis and other uses of force, including a shooting in Portland.

The letter, dated Thursday, Feb. 5, is addressed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Tom Homan, the White House border czar.

“We demand an immediate halt to federal immigration enforcement actions in Oregon until thorough investigations of use of force incidents in Minneapolis, in Portland, and all other use of force incidents by federal agents are thoroughly investigated and those involved are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said the letter, released by Kotek’s office.

The letter comes after protesters were tear-gassed at the Eugene Federal Building and in Portland. The letter specifically called out the Trump administration’s untruthfulness after the Minneapolis shootings, even when video evidence contradicted the federal government’s statements.

“Whenever law enforcement uses lethal force, there must be a full, fair investigation and accountability at the highest legal standard,” the letter said. “The administration’s blatant disregard for the facts on the ground in recent incidents in Minneapolis, coupled with increasingly aggressive tactics and rhetoric against people exercising their First Amendment rights, compromises the integrity of the current investigations.”

The letter says the situation erodes the public’s trust and creates an environment “where it seems acceptable to harm people who disagree with what the government is attempting to do.”

Knudson said she spoke with Kotek about the need for close communication and the value of a unified message when the governor was in Eugene for a press conference Sunday, Feb. 1.

“We’re basically asking this administration to obey the law and uphold its constitutional responsibilities and clearly communicating the concern that’s on the ground in American communities like Eugene,” Knudson said in an interview. “We definitely see the harm and the chaos that results from this current trajectory.”

02.05.26_Oregon Elected Leaders Letter to Noem, HomanDownload

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Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.