An Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicles services employee who advocated for shooting migrants at the U.S. border no longer works for the agency following an investigation into the social media post.

Lori McAllen was first placed on leave June 21 for a Facebook comment she was suspected of posting, according to screenshots that were shared by thousands of people on Twitter. It called for migrants to be shot at the border.

The post came as the Trump administration's policy to separate children from their parents at detention facilities created a national and international fervor. The administration has since said it would keep parents and their children housed in the same detention facilities when they are arrested at U.S. borders. The families will be kept together pending an investigation into their immigration status.

"I personally think they should shoot them all at the border and call it good," McAllen purportedly wrote. "It'll save us hard working AMERICAN'S billions of dollars on our taxes!! ;)"

Dave Thompson, an Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman, said he could not say whether McAllen was terminated or left her job voluntarily. According to an ODOT employee standards manual, personal social media use may result in termination if the content is discriminatory in nature or damaging to the state.

Thompson said the state agency received 18,000 social media comments on the issue in the first two days after the post became known before he stopped counting replies. He also received dozens of phone calls.

ODOT did not name McAllen but alluded to her no longer working with the state in a series of tweets Friday morning.

"Our values are deeply important to us," the agency wrote. "Statements like those in the offensive post have no place in civil service and stand in direct conflict with our values, which are borne from the following: integrity, safety, equity, excellence and unity.

"We'll continue to reflect and discuss both the pride and responsibility that comes from our chosen place of work and civil service as a whole. Please move forward today in kindness toward one another. Through kindness, we are better equipped to problem solve and do good work," the state wrote.

McAllen could not be reached for comment.



-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen