Republicans in the Oregon Legislature on Sunday criticized Democrats for their initial response to the shooting of two people by federal officers in Portland last week.
File Art: Rep. Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, in session at the House of Representatives the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, March 20, 2023. She and other Oregon Republicans criticized the initial Democratic response to a recent shooting by federal agents in Portland.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
“It is deeply irresponsible for elected officials to politicize an active investigation, to inflame fear and undermine law enforcement before the facts are established,” said House Minority Leader Lucetta Elmer of McMinnville at a press conference in Salem on Sunday. “That kind of rhetoric does not make communities safer. It makes them more divided.”
Elmer and a handful of other legislators said initial statements by Democratic leaders eroded trust for federal law enforcement officers before all the information about the case had been made public.
The press conference comes days after federal agents shot two Venezuelan immigrants — Luis David Nino-Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras — in a hospital parking lot in East Portland.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement Friday saying an officer fired shots in self-defense when Nino-Moncada “weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents.”
Oregon Democrats held a press conference hours after the shooting was first reported on Thursday, condemning federal law enforcement’s actions.
The shooting sparked multiple days of protests around the Portland metro area and drew condemnation from elected officials in Portland.
Hours after the shooting, Mayor Keith Wilson called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to end all operations in the city.
The group of legislators honed in on the backgrounds of Nino-Moncada and Zambrano-Contreras.
The Department of Homeland Security said the pair are affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang and had criminal histories in the U.S.
“They’re not peaceful bystanders,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr of Dundee. “These are individuals tied to drug trafficking, sex trafficking and violent criminal activity.”
Portland police Chief Bob Day confirmed there was “an association” between the two people shot and Tren de Aragua in another press conference on Friday, although he had few details on the extent of their involvement. DHS and Portland police have not said if either person has been specifically involved in drug trafficking.
Day said the two came up in connection with a separate shooting last summer in Portland. Court records also show Nino-Moncada was arrested on a DUI charge last November. The Washington County District Attorney’s office has said Zambrano-Contreras is involved in a pending human trafficking case.
Oregon Federal Public Defender Fidel Cassino Du-Cloux, the attorney for Nino-Moncada, said DHS alleged his client was a member of a gang without evidence, a strategy he says the department has used against other Venezuelans.
Referring to a DHS statement issued Thursday, Elmer criticized Democrats at a press conference last week for not discussing the allegations of gang affiliation publicly.
“That information was publicly available before a press conference held by the governor, the Portland mayor, members of the city council and state legislators, yet none of those facts were shared with the public,” Elmer said.
Portland Police Chief Bob Day speaks at a press conference held at the Central Precinct in Portland, Jan. 8, 2026, in response to the shooting of two people by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in East Portland earlier in the day.
Stephani Gordon / OPB
There have been no public indications that elected officials in Oregon or the Portland Police Bureau knew the identities of the people shot and their specific criminal histories before holding their initial news conference.
DHS did not publicly release the names until the following morning.
Reached for comment Sunday, Portland police spokesperson Mike Benner referred OPB to Day’s comments two days prior.
“It is clear that he was not aware of Tren de Aragua’s presence in the area when asked at Thursday’s news conference,” Benner wrote. “After the question from the reporter, Chief (Day) dug into it and provided information Friday.”
The Republican press conference comes as tensions remain high nationwide following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota, as well as the shooting in Portland. Portland police said Sunday that an officer was reassigned after a video, shared on social media, showed him appearing to agree with the tactics used in Good’s death.
