Clark County Today Editor Ken Vance argues that enforcing immigration laws is not an act of racism and voices support for ICE actions in recent Clark County cases. Screenshot from video courtesy KGW8-TV Portland .

Clark County Today Editor Ken Vance addresses recent ICE activity here in Clark County

Ken Vance, editor
Clark County Today

The division over the actions of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) has finally come to our doorstep. On Friday (Dec. 5), the Vancouver Police Department issued a news release stating that it would investigate a report of an alleged incident involving ICE agents who were taking a suspect into custody in Vancouver.

“The Vancouver Police Department learned of this incident via a video that appeared to be taken with a cell phone of the ICE arrest that was subsequently circulated by community members,’’ read the VPD statement. “The video appears to show that the arrested person’s foot may have been struck by an ICE agent’s vehicle during the arrest. Based on the information regarding a vehicle that is alleged to have struck a person within the city limits of Vancouver, per our policy, the Vancouver Police Department will be conducting a traffic investigation to determine the facts.’’

A copy of the video of the incident was linked to in a report by KGW8-TV in Portland. The video shows ICE agents taking a man into custody. When I viewed the video, I didn’t see evidence of the man’s foot being run over by a vehicle.

Cell phone video courtesy KGW8-TV Portland .

Vancouver Police indicated that inquiries related to ICE enforcement should be directed to the Northwest Region U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement Director of Communications Alethea Smock (Alethea.smock@ice.dhs.gov).

According to the KGW8-TV report, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded to the incident on Saturday in an emailed statement, saying:

“FALSE. ICE did NOT run over this illegal alien’s leg. After ICE officers applied wrist restraints, Paniagua launched into an Oscar-level performance, dramatically screaming while officers simply moved his vehicle off the roadway. He walked around normally immediately after without issue and received a full medical evaluation including multiple X rays that showed ZERO fractures, dislocations or injures. Pure theatre. No Injury.”

KGW8-TV also reported that on Thanksgiving morning, ICE agents detained a Vancouver father, Luis Ixchop, while he was out delivering food with his partner. Ixchop has high blood pressure, and his partner said that he’d been hospitalized after the arrest.

In a statement they released later regarding Ixchop’s arrest, ICE said in part:

“It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody and provides each detainee with medical, dental, and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. This is the best healthcare that many aliens have received in their entire lives.”

The KGW8-TV report indicated that Carmen Paniagua and her husband, Ulysses, told KGW that the man seen being detained in Friday’s video is Ulysses’ brother, 27-year-old Jose Paniagua Calderon. The Paniaguas told KGW8-TV that they didn’t want to talk about the details of Calderon’s legal status, but they said he’d been in Vancouver for about five years and worked to provide for his elderly parents in Mexico.

“He doesn’t have a crime; he doesn’t have bad habits. He’s a guy who his hobby is going to church and playing guitar. He wasn’t doing anything bad,” Carmen Paniagua told KGW8-TV.

I have no reason to dispute Paniagua’s claim that her brother has been a good citizen during his five years in our community. However, if he is here illegally, then I fully support the actions of ICE agents taking him into custody on Friday. Paniagua claimed in the KGW8-TV report that ICE agents were racists. I don’t understand how it is an act of racism to enforce our immigration laws. President Donald Trump was elected largely due to the Biden Administration’s horrific open-border policy and the current administration has a mandate to deport the millions of illegal immigrants that are here in the United States.

I realize those who are being deported aren’t all criminals. But, there is a legal way to migrate to the United States and if someone doesn’t follow that prescribed process they absolutely need to face the consequences. The Department of Homeland Security has made significant efforts to assist illegal immigrants in self deportation and many of those individuals have done just that. For those who refuse to do so, I’m sorry but I’m not sorry that they are now being taken into custody and being deported. It’s lawful, it’s legal, and it’s the right thing for our country to do. And, I fully support the often underappreciated work of ICE agents to address this serious issue and I urge law enforcement agencies in Southwest Washington to cooperate with federal agents to do this work.

Under the Grok Lens

Analysis created with Grok

This independent analysis was created with Grok, an AI model from xAI. It is not written or edited by ClarkCountyToday.com and is provided to help readers evaluate the article’s sourcing and context.

Quick summary

In this opinion piece, Clark County Today Editor Ken Vance argues that enforcing U.S. immigration laws through ICE arrests, including recent cases in Vancouver involving Jose Paniagua Calderon and Luis Ixchop, is not racist but necessary, and he urges local law enforcement to cooperate with federal agents.

What Grok notices

The piece clearly quotes official statements from Vancouver Police, ICE, and DHS, giving readers direct access to how each agency describes the incidents.
It provides context on the specific arrests, including family descriptions of the individuals involved, to illustrate the local impact and human side of the story.
Readers may want to follow the ongoing Vancouver Police investigation and witness accounts for additional details on how the traffic stop and arrest unfolded.
The opinion reflects the editor’s perspective that cooperation with federal immigration authorities is a legal and public‑safety obligation, while acknowledging the personal narratives shared by families.

Questions worth asking

How do federal immigration enforcement policies balance public safety with community trust in areas like Clark County?
What role should local police play in supporting, monitoring, or declining participation in federal ICE operations?
In what ways might incidents like these influence immigrant communities’ willingness to report crimes, serve as witnesses, or seek medical care?
How effective are self‑deportation and voluntary departure programs compared with enforcement actions in addressing unauthorized immigration?
What training and oversight do ICE agents receive to minimize risks during arrests, and how could those processes be improved?

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