Learn about emergency declarations in Salem, Woodburn over ICE arrests
The cities of Salem and Woodburn declared states of emergency after dozens of ICE arrests occured in both communities.
U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken heard additional testimony during a two-hour hearing on Dec. 18 in Innovation Law Lab’s lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of Homeland Security over what they say is a systemic denial of access to counsel at Oregon ICE facilities.
Attorneys with Innovation Law Lab first filed the suit in October on behalf of CLEAR Clinic and the farmworker union Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste. An amended complaint was filed on Nov. 13, adding “Leon X” as a plaintiff and seeking class action status.
The suit asks Aiken to issue a preliminary injunction requiring the federal government to grant access to counsel before someone is transferred out of state.
In a Dec. 15 court filing, Innovation Law Lab said ICE, CBP and DHS’s system for access to counsel is “no system at all.”
Director of Legal Advocacy at Innovation Law Lab Tess Hellgren again told Aiken that the federal government has been making mass arrests and detaining people across Oregon to meet quotas disclosed in other cases.
“What defendants have not made efforts to increase, as established by their own declaration, is access to counsel at the Oregon field offices,” Hellgren said. “Individuals detained at these Oregon field offices are allowed to access counsel only if it is convenient for defendants.”
Hellgren said access to counsel at Oregon field offices is crucial.
“What happens at these Oregon facilities before transfer may result in irreversible consequences for an individual case,” Hellgren said.
Surge of ICE arrests in Oregon in recent months
Civil immigration arrests increased 1,400% since October and 7,900% compared to 2024, according to Innovation Law Lab.
Emily Ryo, a professor at Duke University Law School, submitted research in a declaration for the lawsuit using data released by ICE in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
That dataset revealed that the average daily ICE arrest rate in Oregon rose from 0.3 to 1.39 per day in the summer of 2025. In October, daily arrests in Oregon surged to 17.45 arrests per day.
The Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition said that during October, the hotline received reports of more than 292 detentions, at a rate of 15 to 45 per day. PIRC received reports of at least 35 people detained in Woodburn in a single day.
Woodburn declared a state of emergency on Nov. 21. Other nearby cities, like Salem, have also declared emergencies.
In November, PIRC received reports of 373 detentions, and the hotline received reports of 94 detentions in the first week of December, according to court documents.
Organizing Director for PCUN Marlina Campos said the organization has had to stop focusing on key campaigns to be in “rapid response mode.”
Staff patrol the streets to monitor ICE activity and notify PCUN members if they cannot leave their homes or go to work. Staff have also canvassed door-to-door and heard directly about ICE’s impact, Campos said. At least four PCUN members have been arrested, she said.
Campos described Oct. 30 on the stand, saying she saw masked agents cross the street as she made her way to PCUN’s office in Woodburn. Campos said she got out of her car, started recording and contacted PIRC.
“There was a lot of panic,” Campos said. “It was unbelievable.”
Lawyers detail difficulties contacting Oregon detainees before transfer
Aiken heard testimony from CLEAR Clinic staff attorney Josephine Moberg and Eugene immigration attorney Katrina Kilgren about their recent difficulties in meeting with clients at ICE offices in Portland and Eugene. Both submitted more than one declaration in support of the case.
Moberg said she’s been to the Portland field office approximately 20 times since she began working at the CLEAR Clinic in June.
She said “oftentimes” officials say there is a problem that prevents her from meeting with prospective or current clients at the facility. Moberg said it takes a “few exchanges” before officers permit her entrance.
She spoke further about her experience of being denied access to the facility on July 30. According to a declaration, Moberg was at the facility, waiting in the lobby for more than an hour to meet with prospective clients, but was never able to do so. Her clients were transported out of Oregon, presumably while she was waiting, she said. Moberg submitted another declaration about a similar experience on Nov. 11 when she attempted to meet with seven prospective clients who had been arrested.
Officers came outside and told her and another attorney that the building was closed for Veterans’ Day. Large vans with tinted windows entered and left the facility as Moberg was outside.
Kilgren said attorneys have been told to wait outside the Eugene building since May and June of 2025. She said three dates stood out: Oct. 15, Nov. 5 and Nov. 19, when several people were arrested in the Eugene area.
In a Nov. 4 declaration, she said she had appointments with two people she was representing but was refused permission to join them. A building security guard threatened to trespass her if she did not exit, she said.
She said access at the Eugene office keeps getting “more and more limited.”
Both Moberg and Kilgren spoke of difficulties scheduling meetings with clients at the Tacoma, Washington detention center and other facilities.
Moberg said she went to attend a video call with a client at the Louisiana detention center last week and learned he had already signed voluntary departure paperwork and had been deported before he was able to receive any advice about his rights.
Federal government limits hearing response, denies claims
U.S Department of Justice attorney Michael Velchik did not provide an opening statement and called only CLEAR Clinic executive director Elena Tupper as a witness.
Velchik asked how many CLEAR Clinic attorneys she supervises and whether CLEAR Clinic is registered to have itself listed at ICE offices. Tupper said CLEAR Clinic is not, but the Equity Core of Oregon, which CLEAR Clinic is part of, is.
ICE, CBP and DHS denied that they regularly restrict access to lawyers and also asked the court not to grant class-action certification.
They said limitations exist at all three of ICE’s field offices in Oregon, located in Portland, Eugene, and Medford, because individuals cannot be held longer than 12 hours at the offices under land use agreements. Those limitations mean it is not always possible to accommodate immediate in-person visitation with attorneys before transport, lawyers for ICE, CBP, and DHS said in a Dec. 15 filing.
They said Innovation Law Lab presented “no evidence” that Leon X was likely to be arrested and subsequently unlawfully denied access to an attorney while in custody. They also pushed back against the existence of a uniform policy or practice as a reason Aiken should decline class-action certification.
Velchik said the government was concerned that the lawsuit could be used “to leverage the machinery of the judiciary” to interfere with and affect the safety of ICE facilities and enforcement of immigration law.
“I can’t stress enough that the government emphatically opposes any injunction that would restrict our ability to protect the safety of federal officers and detainees by limiting where and how long they must be detained,” Velchick said.
He said the plaintiffs would want a CLEAR Clinic attorney to sign off before DHS could perform a transfer, a notion he called “insane.”
Aiken said she would take the court filings and testimony into consideration.
She said she would issue an opinion “as quickly as possible,” but did not provide a projected date for that decision.
Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com on X @DianneLugo or Bluesky @diannelugo.bsky.social.
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