Two people were shot and seriously injured by Customs and Border Protection agents in Portland, Oregon, this past Thursday.

The victims have been identified as 33-year-old Luis David Nino-Moncada and 32-year-old Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, both Venezuelan nationals. Four days after the shooting, the circumstances surrounding the attack remain unclear.

The couple appears to have been shot outside the Adventist Health Clinic at approximately 2:18 p.m. About six minutes later, police received a report that a man had been shot near Northeast 146th Avenue and East Burnside, roughly eight miles from the clinic.

The attempted murders occurred one day after Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was gunned down by immigration agent and Iraq war veteran Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

As was the case following the murder of Good, the Trump administration immediately flooded social media with lies and racist xenophobia to justify the attempted killing.

In its initial statement on X, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Zambrano-Contreras was “a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting in Portland,” while Nino-Moncada was “believed to be” a member of Tren de Aragua.

DHS further claimed that after immigration agents “identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents.”

The statement concluded, “Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene.”

No body-camera footage has been released to corroborate any of these claims by DHS or local police. With no direct visual evidence and the dubious circumstances under which the shooting occurred, establishing the factual sequence of events must be taken up by community members and workers.

What is known is that after the shooting, it was the alleged “gang members” who called police, not the federal agents.

When Portland police arrived at the scene, they found Nino-Moncada with a gunshot wound to the arm and Zambrano-Contreras with a gunshot wound to the chest. The pair were transported to separate hospitals. A staff member at Legacy Emanuel Hospital, who requested anonymity, told Oregon Public Radio that FBI agents were present at the hospital following the shooting.

It is not surprising that immigration Gestapo feel empowered to shoot and kill workers and residents, regardless of immigration status. The shooting in Portland took place mere hours after Vice President JD Vance made a televised appearance slandering Good as a “brainwashed” “leftist” engaged in “terrorism.”

Vance claimed, without evidence, that Good was “part of a broader left-wing network to attack, to doxx, to assault and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job.” He labeled her a “domestic terrorist” and blamed her for her own death, stating, “I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it’s a tragedy of her own making, and a tragedy of the far-left who has marshaled an entire movement, a lunatic fringe against our law enforcement officers.”

Vance proceeded to defend Ross, stating, “That guy is protected by absolute immunity. He was doing his job.”

There is no question that the Trump administration’s explicit endorsement of extrajudicial killing emboldened federal agents in Portland to act as judge, jury and executioner.

Every day since the shooting there have been protests in Portland calling for immigration Gestapo to leave the city as well as Minneapolis, and for the immigration agencies to be abolished.

In response, Democratic Party officials have called for calm and complacency. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, local officials and religious leaders held a press conference after the shooting. Speakers repeatedly called for “calm” while laughing and joking among themselves as the microphone was passed around.

These appeals mirrored those of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz following the murder of Good. Walz has since issued an executive order authorizing the deployment of the Minnesota National Guard.

Portland officials urged outraged workers and families to “not give the Trump administration an excuse.” Federal agents are already conducting mass raids and executing people in the streets. They require no excuse.

Meanwhile, Portland police have echoed DHS claims that Nino-Moncada and Zambrano-Contreras had alleged ties to Tren de Aragua, allegations that have not been confirmed by any local or national outlet. On Friday, Portland Police Chief Bob Day stated, “They do have some nexus to involvement with TdA. We can confirm that.”

In response to protests against federal immigration violence, Portland police have deployed in force. Dozens have been assaulted and at least 6 people have been arrested as of this writing.

In the face of nationwide protests held this weekend calling for justice for Renee Good and all victims of immigration police brutality, Democrats have already confirmed they will do nothing to halt wanton state violence against workers and residents.

Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday morning, Senator Mark Warner (Democrat-Virginia), vice charman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, confirmed he opposed using an upcoming government funding deadline at the end of the month as a leverage point to defund or otherwise constrain the immigration Gestapo.

“Listen, I think we went through the longest government shutdown in American history last year. I don’t think we need to repeat it,” said Warner.

The simple fact is that the Democrats defend the nation-state and the capitalist system and are organically incapable of opposing the police state.

Since ICE was created by Congress in a bipartisan vote following the September 11 attacks, both parties have expanded funding for the police, immigration Gestapo and military spending.

The defense of democratic rights, including the right of workers to live and labor wherever they choose, requires a break from the Democratic Party and a turn to the working class. Independent rank-and-file committees must be built in every workplace, school and neighborhood. They must link their struggles internationally to bring the power of the global working class to bear against the transnational capitalist oligarchy and put an end to imperialist war abroad and police-state murder at home.