Federal agents are hitting closer to home. Early this year, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded the Sensitive Locations Policy, allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct enforcement in institutions such as schools and churches with a judicial warrant.
In July, a video went viral of ICE detaining Mahdi Khanbabazadeh while dropping his child off at a Beaverton daycare. This was the first arrest in proximity to a school in Oregon after the rescinded policy, as reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting in July.
Organizations are taking action to continue to protect those detained and their families.
Latinos Unidos Siempre is one such organization. Based in Salem, LUS is a grassroots organization focused on empowering youth to leadership positions.
In 2021, LUS helped fight for the removal of police presence in the Salem-Keizer School District, citing data that shows police in schools disproportionally negatively affects Black and brown students.
Currently, LUS is proposing a petition for the Woodburn School District to pass the “Reaffirming Safe and Welcoming Schools for All” resolution, which would solidify Woodburn schools’ commitment to safe learning environments for all students, regardless of their immigration status.
According to Cindy Gaytan, an organizer with LUS, security guards at school can increase the vulnerability of kids with marginalized identities, as can policies limiting phone access during class.
Gov. Tina Kotek issued an executive order banning the use of cell phones in Oregon public schools during the school day. Starting in January 2026, Oregon public school districts will implement a “bell-to-bell” policy.
Gaytan said having access to a phone is a safety issue for undocumented students. In the event of ICE presence in schools, access to phones could make a difference. LUS encourages its members and youth to memorize the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition hotline and an emergency contact number.
“It’s a really important issue to have access to your phone, because the reality of a lot of kids is when you take away their phone, they take away their communication with their families,” Gaytan said.
LUS was one of many organizations present at the International Migrants Alliance Political Conference held in Portland on Labor Day weekend.
Originally established in Hong Kong in 2008, IMA is a grassroots organization with 250 member organizations in over 35 countries.
In the face of overwhelming action by the U.S. federal government, organizers chose Portland to exchange ideas, strengthen tactics and build solidarity.
“Our strategy principally relies on the power of collective action, or the mass movement of migrants and refugees themselves,” said Eni Lestari.
Lestari is a former Indonesian migrant domestic worker in Hong Kong and the current chairperson of IMA who gave an opening keynote speech.
“In short, IMA is about building an international people movement of migrants and refugees in solidarity with the people movements in host countries, home countries and around the world,” Lestari said.
Why Portland?
Over 500 organizers flew or carpooled in from Venezuela, the Asia Pacific and all over the Americas. They landed at Leodis V. McDaniel High School in Southeast Portland.
Encouraged by state and city sanctuary laws, local history of grassroots organization, and proximity to the Northwest ICE Processing Center, the decision to host the conference in Portland was obvious, according to Marco Mejia, a member of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of IMA.
“The core of this conference is to bring together migrants, build unity and respond to this government, not just this government, all the ones before and those that will come later,” said Mejia.
Oregon has a complicated history confronting racism.
Before it became a state, Oregon Territory enacted “Black exclusionary laws” which were in place from 1844 until 1926. These laws banned Black people from living in the territory, with the consequence being whipped 39 times, every six months, until they left. Later versions of the law changed the punishment to manual labor.
By 1923, there were an estimated 35,000 members of the Ku Klux Klan in the state, according to “The Rise and Fall of the Ku Klux Klan in Oregon During the 1920s,” by Ben Bruce, a researcher at Chapman University. The Portland chapter of the Ku Klux Klan influenced local and state politics.
Portland’s immigrant population grew during the late 1990s and early 2000s, contributing to a growing grassroots movement supporting immigrant rights.
In 1987, the Oregon State Legislature passed the Sanctuary Promise Act. The resolution prevents cooperation between local officials and federal immigration authorities.
In 2006, Portland participated in the “day without immigrants” boycott where tens of thousands of immigrants and supporters protested the Sensenbrenner Bill, which would have criminalized undocumented immigrants. The bill did not pass in the Senate and therefore did not become law — a testament to mass mobilization across the U.S.
In 2018, migrant groups in Portland helped temporarily shut down the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Facilities, which housed ICE detainees, despite Oregon’s state sanctuary laws. The federal prison ended its contact with ICE in 2020.
In 2021, the Portland Public Schools board approved the name change from Madison High School to Leodis V. McDaniel. One of the most diverse schools in the state, nearly 12% of the student body identifies as Asian, 13% as Black and over 25% as Latino. McDaniel was a former Black principal at the school who oversaw desegregation during his tenure in the 1970s and 1980s. Collectively, the student body speaks over 30 languages.
Recently, Oregon’s state sanctuary laws fell under federal scrutiny, causing alarm to the migrant population and supporters.
As reported by Street Roots on Aug. 15, the Department of Justice sent letters to Mayor Keith Wilson and Kotek stating Oregon’s sanctuary laws do not comply with federal law or the greater interests of the U.S.
On Aug. 19, Robert Taylor, Portland city attorney, sent a two-sentence letter stating the city “complies with applicable federal and state laws” and will continue to do so.
The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly defended the constitutionality of sanctuary state laws, the city said, adding that immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government.
Portland is home to the largest immigrant and refugee population in Oregon, with 13.5% of the population being immigrants, compared to 10% statewide.
“As someone who grew up here, it feels like an honor and so powerful to have 500 people here today, especially knowing there are so many migrants in our own local community,” said Junix Seraphim, a Portland local and organizer with BAYAN USA.
To Tacoma
“Chinga la migra!” protesters yelled outside the Northwest ICE Processing Center on Labor Day.
“Shut it down!”
Two school buses and a 50-car caravan transported organizers from Portland to Tacoma. Grassroots organizers, union members, artists, migrants, allies, children and youth showed up for a rally titled “ALL OUT FOR MIGRANT DEFENSE.”
“Multiple times I heard speakers, many of whom were the wives of men currently detained in inhumane conditions inside the detention center, say that everyone who mobilized that day was family,” Seraphim said.
Organizers protested the overcrowding of the center, among other conditions.
Capacity at the NWIPC is 1,575 people, according to the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.
In June, ICE transferred 41 immigrants to Alaska due to overcrowding.
The transfers further alarmed organizers with IMA. They encouraged family members and people at risk of detainment to memorize emergency contacts, so people transferred to out of state centers can call for assistance.
ICE denied widespread reports in an email from Chrissy Cuttita, a public affairs officer for ICE. Cuttita asked that the statement be attributed to an ICE spokesperson.
“FALSE. There is no overcrowding at NWIPC,” the email states. “As we arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens and public safety threats from the U.S., ICE has worked diligently to obtain greater necessary detention space while avoiding overcrowding. ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in the agency’s custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments under appropriate conditions of confinement.”
This rally signified the growth of the movement, according to organizers. A man known as Kuya G, who is currently detained in the facility, called in to the rally. Wives of the detainees and representatives from Portland Association of Teachers and Oregon Rising were also present.
Seraphim said it was sobering to be able to tell Kuya G, “We have 500 people outside right now gathered for you and everyone inside.”
ICE detained Maximo Londonio, or Kuya Max, at NWIPC for two months earlier this year before being released, thanks in part to the efforts of Tanggol Migrante. He attended the conference and rally with his family.
“It means a lot, because this is the time and platform to give awareness to all the people, all the migrants, and for all the Kapabayan, to know the true experience of being one of those detained,” Londonio said.
Kapabayan is a Filipino word meaning countryman and is a term of endearment.
“The people who I’m standing by right now, there are a lot of people supporting me all the way so it means a lot to give back.”
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This article appears in September 10, 2025.