More than 200 ICE Arrests in Oregon Since October 15

By Brian Bahouth

Since October 15, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have arrested more than 200 Oregon residents in Washington County, with 31 arrested on October 30 in and around Woodburn in Marion County, according to the coalition Oregon for All. Today in Portland the coalition held a press conference to talk about the rash of arrests.

Reyna Lopez is President and Executive Director of the farmworkers union Pineros Y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste or PCUN. At today’s press conference, she said ICE raids have been conducted early in the morning.

“They are farm workers, they’re landscapers, they’re contractors, they’re piñeros, and overall, Oregon’s economic engine,” Lopez said. She scoffed at the notion that the recently detained workers are criminals.

“And yet,” Lopez continued, “every single day, there are people that are being snatched by Trump’s mass secret police, and they are being kidnapped from our communities. 

“ICE and Border Patrol are recklessly and violently targeting Oregonians on their way to work in the fields, on their way to grocery stores and on their way to school drop offs. We know that they’re targeting people based on the color of their skin, or even just for speaking Spanish.”

Recent Oregon arrestees have been denied legal council, according to Lopez. Innovation Law Lab attorneys filed five petitions in federal court to challenge the lawfulness of Thursday’s detentions. 

If successful, the court can issue a writ of habeas corpus, which is an order to produce the prisoner and justify their confinement, potentially leading to release from custody, a reduced sentence, or other relief. Two of the 31 arrested on Thursday have been released, and two more may be released soon, according to Oregon for All. 

Portland Metro Councilor Juan Carlos González spoke at today’s press conference and told the story of Victor Cruz, an Oregon man wrongfully detained by ICE.

“This is a man who has been here for more than 30 years,” González explained. “He is a father, a grandfather and a staple in a close-knit Latino community within Hillsborough. 

“He has a work permit. He’s here lawfully. He is a law abiding Oregonian, yet, despite his record and his deep connections to this community, ICE entered his home without a warrant and arrested him wrongfully. 

“And I am retelling this story because it should give pause to all of us. Victor is like many others who have been arrested in recent weeks, hard working and upstanding members of our communities. These are fathers and mothers who make our communities more prosperous and more resilient, yet they are kidnapped, just like that.”

González said ICE needs to be reigned in.

“Trump’s lawless secret police force is unaccountable to our leaders. They are unaccountable to our members of Congress and even to law enforcement professionals who are charged with protecting our state, our cities and our neighborhoods. 

“What Every Oregonian must consider in this moment is how we live in a society where mass secret police can operate without guardrails in our communities who answer to nobody, or a society where its citizens are at risk of being snatched up on our streets.

“We need to wake up. We need to wake up that this has never been about public safety. This is a cynical ploy to try to divide us along racial lines, to distract us while they strip away our health care and starve our communities. 

“Trump and his billionaires want to control all aspects of American life and decide who gets to be an American. This is our home, and we are here to stay,” González said. “Aqui estamos e nos vamos. We will fight to protect this place, this beautiful place that we call Oregon.”