Weekly Update for July 24, 2026

12 detentions reported to the PIRC hotline July 17 - July 23

Counties in Oregon where detentions occurred: Yamhill, Washington, Jackson, Multnomah, Deschutes, Lane, Benton, Wasco, Jefferson, Lincoln

Of note: 12 detentions in 10 separate counties

54 detentions reported July 1-July 23

At the end of this week, disturbing news emerged of individuals impersonating ICE to detain and assault an immigrant community member in Clackamas County. The hotline received a call about this event the day it happened but was not aware until news broke on July 24 that the actions had been carried about by impersonators and not by ICE themselves.

This reveals the truth immigrant communities and advocates have long known: there is very little visible difference between ICE kidnapping someone and armed criminals kidnapping someone. This is yet another reason why ICE should not be operating in Oregon - they are causing public safety problems with their reckless tactics.

We are also concerned about some of the guidance given by Oregon State Police in the aftermath of the event. In their press release, OSP suggests individuals “try to stop in a well-lit, crowded area,” “lock your doors,” and “look for a uniform.”

These suggestions show a remarkable lack of awareness of ICE’s common tactics of forcibly stopping people wherever they want, threatening to break people’s windows if they do not immediately exit their vehicles, and failing to wear uniforms or identify themselves at all.

In fact, we know that some of the most heinous violence ICE has carried out, including assaulting, shooting, and killing immigrant community members, has been because people took some of these measures which ICE construed as “resisting arrest” or “threatening agents.”

Our state must do better. ICE and armed vigilantes are both deliberately exploiting a legal gray zone where people aren’t sure if they can call 911 to report violent traffic assaults from unmarked people acting like police. We know local police have refused to respond to 911 calls relating to ICE activity and have in fact collaborated in pulling over or otherwise stopping individuals who are lawfully tracking ICE activity.

Instead of placing the onus on individuals to keep themselves safe with advice that will actually potentially place them in harm’s way, we call on state leadership and OSP to hear directly from impacted community and come up with a tangible, community-driven plan for addressing future incidents of this nature. Our state must do everything in its power to keep its residents safe, and that includes calling for the abolition of ICE.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) update.

PIRC shares our community’s alarm about the Trump administration threatening to end TPS designations for an estimated 5,000 Oregonians, and 1.3 million US residents.

Thanks to another recent partisan SCOTUS ruling, this reckless, racist MAGA decision could move forward as soon as Monday, July 27. However, as this article points out, impacted people should remain calm and adapt as best they can. ICE wants us to live in fear, but there are far more of us than low-morale ICE can handle, and there are ways to defend ourselves.

Family member losing TPS? Prepare.

As always, PIRC encourages all people to Know Your Rights, have the PIRC number saved with a plan to use it, follow PIRC’s weekly updates to track how ICE is operating. Impacted people should connect with their lawyer or enroll in Equity Corps Oregon for free, detention-related legal services. Years of valuable resources for vulnerable families in Oregon can be found at the link below.

PIRC stands with our neighbors, most notably Haitian Oregonians, who have been speaking out as they face losing Work Authorizations, and face threats of arrest, detention, and deportation back to Haiti, a country currently in incredible turmoil.

Congress does have a bill - the Dream and Promise Act - that would end all of this fear, but DC Republicans are blocking it. Show your support for Dreamers and TPS recipients via the ACLU’s new action tool.

PIRC Friend of the Week:

PIRC is blown away by the work of our ally Aden, who spent the past 6 months creating the event “PDX for PIRC” and gave everything she had to make this event a success. Over 60 local businesses and individuals donated time, food, their venue, their labor, or gift packages. This past week, PDX for PIRC’s auction and program were hosted at The Old Church in downtown Portland. PIRC’s Board President spoke, and attendees were incredibly generous with donations and bids. Aden, everyone around PIRC has been amazed by your efforts - thank you!

PDX for PIRC is just one of hundreds of creative events you all have been putting on to throw everything we have at ICE’s horrible actions.

Keep it up! We keep us safe! Abolish ICE!