Clark County Today Editor Ken Vance reacts to the declaration on community harm, public safety, and human dignity made by the members of the Vancouver City Council
Ken Vance, editor
Clark County Today
Members of the Vancouver City Council have irresponsibly reinforced irrational fears being experienced by a small percentage of people when they released a public declaration on Tuesday (Jan. 20) “on community harm, public safety, and human dignity,” criticizing federal immigration and law enforcement bodies.
Here is the official news release from the city, which was sent out Tuesday afternoon, and a link to the full declaration for you to read in its disgusting totality:
“Vancouver, WA – Today, the Vancouver City Council issued a Public Declaration on Community Harm, Public Safety, and Human Dignity formally denouncing the conduct of federal immigration enforcement agencies and affiliated law enforcement bodies operating under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The declaration outlines the City’s position and affirms its intention to respond to this crisis with the full force of its legal authority.’’
Obviously, you can tell, this fires me up. It’s one of the most biased, inflammatory and politically motivated actions I’ve ever witnessed by a body of elected officials representing a municipality.
Members of the Vancouver City Council say they were forced into issuing the proclamation because “these actions have generated widespread fear and a pervasive sense of terror among residents; fractured trust between community members and law enforcement; contributed to significant declines in mental and emotional well-being; disrupted families and educational stability; and produced negative economic consequences for workers, businesses, and essential services.’’
Let me first say this. I have no doubt that there are residents of the city of Vancouver who are afraid. They’re being told by their elected officials and city leaders to be just that! However, if the people are here legally, they have absolutely no reason to be afraid.
The biggest reason for their irrational fears is the ridiculous narrative kept alive by Trump Derangement Syndrome patients – such as the members of this pathetic City Council – who prey on citizens in the attempt to build and maintain opposition to President Donald Trump. By the way, one of the main reasons we elected Trump as president is because we wanted him to secure our Southern Border and deport the millions of illegals and criminals the previous administration allowed to enter this country completely unchecked.
I challenge these seven incredibly irresponsible elected officials to provide evidence of the claims they have made in this proposition starting with: “These harms reflect patterns of enforcement activity that include brutal reports of physical force and intimidation, lack of clear identification of federal law enforcement officers, limited or absence of transparency or due process, and actions that disproportionately impact individuals based on perceived race, language, occupation, or presence in certain public spaces.’’
Brutal reports of physical force and intimidation? I get every single news release produced by the city of Vancouver, including the Vancouver Police Department. I read every one of them and I publish an overwhelming majority of them so you can absorb the information and make your own decision on how to interpret it. Councilors, please show me the brutal reports of physical force and intimidation that you speak of! Prove your libelous claims! You can’t because they don’t exist.
These progressive politicians are just parroting the narrative being spewed by their liberal brethren throughout the region and the country. If they truly wanted to serve the citizens of their city, which continues to be more and more intolerable on their watch, they would tell area residents that they have absolutely nothing to worry about if they are here legally.
If you are approached by any form of law enforcement, whether local or federal, cooperate and you will be fine. I will never understand how elected officials and staff members of a local municipality believe it is in their best interests to undercut the legs of their own law enforcement.
I am a big fan of Vancouver Police Chief Troy Price and his officers. I can only imagine the horror they are living with behind the scenes, thwarting the irrational demands and expectations of these councilors and Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle.
I live in the city of Vancouver. I’m in my 39th year as a journalist in Clark County. Whether you agree with me or not, you all know that I don’t hide my conservative ideology and support for law enforcement. If you want to call me biased, feel free. I sleep very well at night with the decisions I make as the editor of Clark County Today. But, if you think I’m aware of evidence of the outlandish and wildly inaccurate accusations made by the members of the Vancouver City Council, and I’m choosing to ignore them and not report them, you are as deranged as they are.
Law enforcement in many forms isn’t all wine and roses. It’s ugly. Crime is ugly. Law enforcement officials, whether local or federal, are tasked with jobs that most of us can’t even fathom. What do you expect the result to be when they conduct a traffic stop, or other enforcement or investigative action, and the suspect doesn’t cooperate? It’s going to get ugly. I watch law enforcement videos all the time. It absolutely amazes me how suspects behave, thinking they have the right to refuse lawful orders and not face the appropriate consequences. I’m so thankful these law enforcement officers are there to protect us.
That includes the actions of ICE and DHS. We elected a president to do exactly what is being done. Until you can prove they are not carrying out that lawful mandate then stop throwing gasoline on the fire and let them do their job. The residents in this city who are living in fear are doing so because of your actions, not because of those enforcing the nation’s deportation efforts.
“We reject actions that cause fear and harm. We reject practices that fracture families and communities,’’ the Vancouver councilors stated in their proclamation.
But that’s exactly what THEY’RE doing.
Members of the Vancouver City Council almost always speak as one voice. I find that to be a shame. Either they don’t have the courage to tell us how they feel individually or they have allowed themselves to be bullied by the majority and the leadership. If there are any of the seven who don’t agree with this declaration, I challenge them to speak out. If you don’t, you deserve to be judged by those you’ve attached yourselves to in this disturbing declaration.
Also read:
- Clark County Council discusses statement regarding ICE
Clark County Council members debated whether issuing a statement on ICE would ease community concerns or further complicate law enforcement operations in the county. - Leslie Lewallen stays and fights for Washington as director of Future 42 Clark County
Former Camas City Councilor Leslie Lewallen is leading the Clark County chapter of Future 42, a new organization focused on policy advocacy, accountability, and engaging persuadable voters at the local and state level. - Opinion: ‘Seeking might over right destroys representative government’
Retired judge Dave Larson argues that prioritizing political power over constitutional principles has undermined representative government and calls for renewed civic responsibility. - Letter: ‘Immigration’ resolution scheduled for this Wednesday at Clark County Council Meeting
Rob Anderson urges residents to closely watch an upcoming Clark County Council meeting where an immigration-related resolution and proposed rule changes are expected to be discussed. - Opinion: The 1700-square-foot solution to Washington’s housing crisis
An opinion column arguing that Washington’s energy code has driven up housing costs and outlining how HB 2486 aims to limit those impacts for smaller, more affordable homes.
Elections have consequences. What was the turnout for the last election when we could have voted out two of the clowncilors…. about 32%-ish? That means that it only took about 16% of all eligible voters to dictate to the rest of us who guides our city for the next few years.
So many dislike mayor annie ogle… but few even bothered to vote against her. Same for the other 2 clowncilors on the ballot.
I’ve about thrown in the towel. The voter apathy in Vancouver City is astounding! And as a result, we end up with that about which you write, Ken… fear mongering to serve their political ambitions.
Susan, I couldn’t help the snark on the “32%-ish”… maybe the rest of the voters remember this phrase: “it doesn’t matter who votes, it’s who COUNTS the votes that matters”.
If you are proclaiming that you are throwing in the towel because of voter apathy then you would be the epitome of voter apathy. just saying…
“However, if the people are here legally, they have absolutely no reason to be afraid. ”
Tell that to Renee Good.
Had Ms.Good acted lawfully she would still be here.
Or, as our so enlightened democrats told us about Ashley Babbit: “if she wasn’t there, she’d still be alive”. The levels of hypocrisy on the left defy reality….
I find the idea of masked federal agents appalling as well. A question I ask is, “why are they here?” During the Biden Administration a realistic estimation of how many people came across the southern border “illegally” is about ten-million. The population of the U.S. is 350-million. Roughly one out of every thirty-five people in the U.S. today came across the southern border during the Biden Administration.
These masked ICE agents are a product of those who opened the southern border and let millions of people come across. Either they weren’t intelligent enough to understand the consequences of their action, or they were deliberately trying to provoke the blow-back happening now.
you seem to be forgetting the 50 million illegals already here before Biden let in his 20 million. You also seem to be forgetting that you are paying for all the FREE medical care, SNAP bennies, free cell phones, free housing, free transportation these 70+ million illegals are receiving while a lot of citizens are homeless and have NOTHING.
The people who face the harshest outcomes here are often those who never had equal opportunity to begin with: low‑income parents, young people raised in unstable environments, and families navigating poverty. Our local structures frequently punish disadvantage instead of addressing the conditions that create it.
If we’re going to talk about community harm and human dignity, then we need to look at how our own policies and practices contribute to unequal treatment and inconsistent consequences.
Focusing on ICE distracts from the real work: ensuring fairness, accountability, and support within Vancouver’s own systems. The conversation should start with what happens here at home.
Thank you.
Absolutely agree. President Obama
deported more illegals than Trump has and there were few complaints and no hysteria. Our “neighbors” are not the ones being deported. Criminals who are harming us and our neighbors are.
“However, if the people are here legally, they have absolutely no reason to be afraid. ”
this is a argument full of nuance. If you are white its simple right. What if your not? By October of this year 170 US citizens of legal status or law abiding temp. status have been detained and held at ICE Facility.
I aint buying what Kens selling. Ken needs to clean the cheetos off his lips and stop drinking DJT sauce. How did just complying work in WW2? My family fought for my rights which includes DUE PROCCESS.
well, if you want to be racist, why don’t you try explaining why 99.9% of all illegals aren’t white?
Thank you for bringing common sense to this issue.
I totally agree with Editor Ken Vance in his comments about the Vancouver City Council. The fear and hate mongering they are promoting about DHS/ICE/CBP is a symptom of TDS. I am glad that I live in the county and in District 2 governed by Michelle Belkot, who is a woman of integrity and honesty, representing me. I have watched the Vancouver City Council go from somewhat conservative to a liberal Democrat Socialist group since 1971. That is what concerns me. That poison creeps over the rest of the county. I retired from WA State Fish and Wildlife Police in 1998 after 35 years. I also retired from US Army CID RC, as a SA, SGM, 3rd MP Grp. Ft Gillem, GA. I know how important border security is. Without it we do NOT have national sovereignty. Trump is right and DHS is doing right in enforcing federal immigration law, cleaning up the criminals that Biden let in. People that protest DHS/ICE agents need a lesson in Constitutional Law, in other words, go back to school. Learn what US Citizenship means and requires.