Correction and update appended.

SALEM -- Oregon Republican Party officials issued a pair of incendiary statements Wednesday in which they linked Portland-area rapes and murders to undocumented immigrants, though did not say which crimes specifically they were referring to.

The statements were released in response to the Portland City Council's vote to reaffirm its sanctuary city status and Mayor Ted Wheeler's proclamation that Portland "will remain a welcoming, safe place for all people."

Kevin Hoar pictured at the Republican National Convention in 2012.

In saying Portland will be welcoming, Wheeler "must include criminal illegal aliens who are murdering and raping his city's citizens," said Oregon Republican Party spokesman Kevin Hoar.

"The citizens of Portland deserve protection from the illegal aliens who are committing crimes against them," said Bill Currier, the state party chairman. "It is an outrage that Portland's public officials are choosing to unlawfully harbor these criminals, helping them to avoid deportation. These same criminals are then free to commit further rapes, murders, and other felonies against our families and friends."

In fact, sanctuary city designations do not help undocumented immigrants suspected of rapes, murders or other crimes avoid deportation. Oregon law enforcement agencies cooperate with federal immigration officials when undocumented immigrants are suspected of criminal activities.

Currier and Hoar did not include examples of crimes committed by unlawful immigrants in their statement. After being contacted for comment by an Oregon/OregonLive reporter, Hoar issued an additional statement saying the news media had mischaracterized the party's earlier comments, and pointed to cases in Maryland and San Francisco for examples of crimes committed by immigrants living in those communities unlawfully.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has made it clear the city won't tolerate criminal behavior by anyone, regardless of immigration status. "Crimes over which we have jurisdiction -- including murder, rape, and robbery -- continue to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," he wrote in an opinion piece in The Oregonian/OregonLive. "But we will not aid in the deportation of our neighbors whose only offense is being undocumented."

Wheeler released a response Monday, saying Hoar's statement is "inaccurate and harmful."

Wheeler pointed to the Sunday arrest of 25-year-old Francisco Rodriguez Dominguez as an example of what he sees as harm done by federal agents to the area's undocumented immigrants. Rodriguez Dominguez had been given a reprieve from deportation under an Obama-era rule, but was arrested by Immigrations Customs and Enforcement agents after that rule was rescinded by the Trump administration. Rodriguez Dominguez was released Monday, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon.

"This arrest does nothing to promote public safety," Wheeler said. "Instead, actions like this only serve to tear apart our community and needlessly alter the lives of our residents."

Andrea Miller, who heads immigrants rights group Causa, said she was "disgusted and shocked" by Currier and Hoar's statements, which she called inaccurate.

"Not only is there empirical data to show that immigrants commit crimes at a lower level, much lower level, than the native born, but their statement was a gross stereotype that we saw used during the Trump campaign that unfairly paints immigrants as people that they're not," Miller said.

Though several Oregon cities have declared themselves sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants, those are symbolic gestures. A longstanding state law prevents Oregon police agencies from cooperating with federal agents to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants, effectively making all Oregon cities sanctuary cities.

Miller said she's disappointed to see Oregon Republicans espousing what she sees as anti-immigrant and misleading rhetoric.

"It is so damaging when we see messaging like that," she said. "Words actually matter."

-- Gordon R. Friedman

GFriedman@Oregonian.com; 503-221-8209

Correction, March 28, 2017: This article has been corrected to reflect the accurate date that Kevin Hoar and Bill Currier's statements were issued. This article was also updated to provide clarity on Oregon sanctuary city laws and to provide more of Currier's statement.