Weekly Update for September 28, 2026

3 detentions reported and confirmed on the PIRC hotline 9/28-10/2 (nearly all detentions reported the 23rd-27th were individuals taken during the Southern Oregon raids 9/23 and 9/24, and were included in last weeks' weekly update)

Of note, no detentions reported to the PIRC hotline thus far in October

76 detentions reported to PIRC in September

Detentions reported to us this week occurred in Lane county and additionally in the Phoenix, AZ airport

For 4 months straight, June-September, around 70-90 PIRC-confirmed ICE arrests and detentions in Oregon.

Trump's despised Silent Surge continues; so does our fierce resistance.

Arrest location breakdown:

ICE Check-Ins and Credible Fear Interviews: 15

PDX Airport arrests: 2; Oregonians arrested in other states' airports: 2

Box Stores/Business Parking Lots: 11 arrests (WalMart, Winco, Sherwin Williams, Home Depot, Fred Meyer)

Local Jails and Courthouses (inside or upon departing): 5 arrests. Lane County, Lincoln County, Marion County, Clackamas County, Multnomah County.

PIRC applauds a new 9/30 letter from Oregon's Congressional delegation that condemns this Federal Agency "Blitzkrieg" in Immigration Courts and Detention Facilities. Oregon Senators Wyden, Merkley, and Congresswomen Salinas, Bynum, Hoyle, Bonamici, Dexter demanded Trump's former private attorney, AG Todd Blanche, stop these abuses on our families' immigration proceedings.

No evidence yet of the "Sanctuary City Surge" rumors

Here's what PIRC told Salem's Statesman Journal in response to the DHS and ICE statement claiming they would be "surging" in Sanctuary Cities or States:

"PIRC has not seen strong evidence of an additional ICE surge in Oregon, though we will continue to report weekly on changing patterns of ICE/DHS behavior in the state of Oregon. ICE and DHS are continually changing their tactics in order to most effectively harm, and scare, Oregon residents, businesses and their families. We condemn this harmful behavior by DHS and ICE led by Donald Trump and Stephen Miller. PIRC will always communicate to help our community maintain public safety against these threats as part of our community effort to keep our residents safe. PIRC is ALWAYS here to hear from Oregon community members about masked ICE and DHS agents in tinted vehicles. The ICE and DHS agents are driving around the state, unwelcome and unwanted, abducting Oregonians, ripping them away from their families, and whisking them away to terrible detention facilities. Our 24/7 hotline 1-888-622-1510 and our dispatchers, legal and organizational partners, and mutual aid connections are waiting to take your call and help as best they can."

This week in DHS unlawfulness and chaos:

Sep 25: Major beef producer Associations in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas release a statement demanding Trump's ICE/DHS stop unlawfully targeting and arresting their workers.

Sep 26 Republican leader Karl Rove says to a Texas audience the party is becoming overrun with "bigots" and "Nazis".

Sep 26 far right news Major Report claims ICE has told its agents to stop arresting people without a criminal record

Sep 26 President Trump and DHS quickly rush out a statement saying No, we are going to continue arresting as many people as we can. They announce a supposed "surge" in "sanctuary cities".

Sep 29 Vice President JD Vance tells far-right news that the reason for that original Sep 26 ICE order was that ICE doesn't have enough agents to do all the arrests

Oregonians are courageous. We care about our neighbors. And we know better than to fall for lies that ICE is telling about "arresting criminals", or when they paint a picture of certain immigrants of "more deserving" of our collective solidarity than others.

We know that what this administration is actually doing is creating a tolerance for authoritarian policing, concentration camps, rights violations, and surveillance practices, that all Oregonians concerned about liberty and justice should reject.

We will not turn on our neighbors. As the wife of a local business owner shared after he was kidnapped from our community, "We have so many letters from our community that people are writing about him, and they talk about how they'll give. He will give them the shirt off of his back, and he will bring you hot soup when it's cold. And he will give you food if you need it." (https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/this-is-wrong-family-seeks-answers-after-seaside-man-bombarded-in-parking-lot-during-ice-detainment/)

To support Martin and his family: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bring-celines-dad-home

We will keep showing up for our community!

Despite ICE's ongoing assault on Oregon communities, we know our past collective wins, including Oregon's sanctuary law, are also a protective force.

In September, ICE arrested at least 5 Oregonians in or near County Courthouses in 5 different counties.

For perspective, in the state of Texas, ICE agents arrest 4,000 people PER MONTH near local Jails and Courthouses, based on DHS data from March-July 2026 analyzed by the Marshall Project and PIRC. In Florida the number is almost 2,000 per month. In Louisiana, Kentucky, and Oklahoma, states with roughly the same population as Oregon, ICE is arresting 7 neighbors per DAY, in each state, at Jails and Courthouses over the same timeframe.

In Oregon, ICE is arresting about 1-2 people per week outside jails and courthouses; this is horrific and yet also far less than in other states, because of our protections and our community looking out for each other to keep families together.

Let's keep defending each other!

Friend of the week:

This week, PIRC was honored to receive the ChangeMaker of the Year award at the annual REACH CDC gala. We are incredibly grateful to the REACH team, who day in and day out not only support their residents and neighbors, but also make space for the PIRC Resource Center, where thousands of immigrant community members and their loved ones find information, referrals to support, and a safe space in some of the most tumultuous moments in their lives.

REACH believes that "everyone deserves a place to call home"; and we are so thankful to co-create our home at the Resource Center alongside our neighbors at REACH.