Dozens of demonstrators took to downtown Vancouver late Wednesday afternoon to protest the detention of a Vancouver woman who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials Monday at a Portland courthouse.

The woman, referred to in court documents by the initials OJM, came to the United States in September 2023 from Mexico to seek asylum after she said she was sexually assaulted by cartel members. The woman also said the cartel threatened to kill her because she is transgender, according to court documents.

She was released from immigration custody on her own recognizance, and she applied for asylum. Yet the woman’s attorneys said that when she arrived at a Portland courthouse Monday for her next hearing, ICE officials arrested her and took her to a detention facility in T

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