Oregon
Lawyers claim repeated denial to clients at Oregon ICE facilities
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.
Oregon tight end Jamari Johnson, after an impressive 2025 season with the Ducks, now becomes the leader at his position following the departure of star Kenyon Sadiq to the NFL.
With an Oregon offense set to return several top stars and bring in two talents at the tight end position, Johnson looks to not only improve as a leader but build off his impressive 2025 season, in which he recorded 32 receptions for 510 yards and three touchdowns.
Here’s everything Johnson had to say during his media appearance following Oregon’s scrimmage on Saturday, with the spring game on the horizon.
Everything Tight End Jamari Johnson Said After Spring Scrimmage
What He Learned From Playing With Tight End Kenyon Sadiq:
“So many, but one is training. Everybody in this facility harps on it, and it’s just a standard here. It’s like him from last year, that man strained his guts out almost every play. I just feel like I got to do the exact same thing or even more to uphold the standard.”
Stepping Up At Tight End:
“It just changed because obviously Kenyon leaving somebody has to step up and be a leader in the room, and me being one of the older guys, it just happens to be me. I just accepted that role, and I actually kind of like it, getting these young guys going, getting them in the playbook and getting them used to college football.”
Participating Again In Spring Practice:
“It feels good coming back. Feels like I have something to prove for me personally, I feel like I haven’t really done anything in college football. I feel like this year is that year for me to show everybody what I’m about.”
On Tight Ends Kendre Harrison and Andrew Olesh:
“Both good dudes, they both got that dog in them. Andrew, he came from Penn State. He’s been coming along well, getting in the playbook. Kendre, he’s a big, tall guy, getting in the playbook too. They’ve been getting after it, man. It’s been good taking them under my wing. Hopefully, we just get going this year.”
Goals and Expectations Ahead of Spring Game:
“I’ll say one expectation that we really try to harp on in the room is just going 100 percent. That’s with your effort, that’s with knowing the plays and just giving it your all. A goal is just to get in that endzone. That’s one of the goals for the tight end room right there.”
Why He Returned to Oregon:
“Like I said earlier, to me, I felt like I haven’t really done anything in college football. That was one of the reasons, and another is I wouldn’t say I’m not ready for the NFL, but like that’s pretty much what I’m getting at, is just like I have a lot of stuff to work on that’s within footwork and hand placement, block in the run game, and route details. Getting to the right depth and just touching up everything I can so when I get to the NFL, there’s none of those problems, it’s just the big problems I have to fix.”
How Reps Helped Him Improve:
“It really helped me. Last year, we ran a lot of twelve personnel at the end of the season because we had a couple of injuries, but that really helped me. This year, I feel like I’m coming in rolling off the ground. It’s just so much more fluent, and those reps really helped me with the playbook. Playbook is way easier now, and I’m getting a good feel for it.”
His Leadership Traits:
“I like to get the guys going. I have a real voice on the field, and if y’all hear me on the field, I get the guys going. I wouldn’t say I’m a vocal leader, but I lead by example. Vocal leader, probably something I need to work on.”
On New Offensive Coordinator Drew Mehringer:
“It’s been different. They’re two different people, coach (Will) Stein and coach Drew. My guy’s getting us going. I’m excited for this season.”
Supporting Dakorien Moore At Track Meet:
“Yesterday, that touched my heart, man. Just all of us going out there, and it wasn’t even just for Dakorien. It was really for Oregon. It was just more for Dakorien because we see him every day. That really touched my heart, and the connection is just unbelievable. I don’t think many people are doing that for their teammates.”
Quarterback Dante Moore’s Growth:
“That guy has his head on his shoulders at all times. He’s been growing consistently, but it’s a couple of different things. I probably can’t name them right now, but he’s been having his head on his shoulders. He’s just been on the climb.”
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
Oregon
Oregon man mounted a jet engine on a 60-year-old fishing boat to blast around a lake and thinks he may have set a world record
A man from Oregon has unveiled something truly crazy after he added a jet engine to the back of a 60-year-old fishing boat – and he suspects he might have broken a world record.
YouTuber Robert Maddox from CrazyRocketman mounted a pulsejet engine and its 230lbs of thrust to the back of a 1965 12-foot Sears fishing boat.
A wild juxtaposition by any standard, and the video he posted on YouTube confirms that as the diminutive boat roars away.
But did the YouTuber actually actually get the record?
How does this 1965 Sears fishing boat get its power?
The video shows the Oregon man hurling the boat around a lake, with the engine glowing behind him.
Strapped to the back of the boat is a pulsejet engine that produces 230lbs of thrust.
Pulsejet engines are smaller, lighter jet engines with combustion occurring in pulses.
Such is their simplicity that they can be made with few or even no moving parts at all.
Engines like these were used on the German V-1 Flying Bomb from World War II.
These were the Argus As 014 engines, the very first pulsejet ever to be mass-produced.
It is a smaller and even simpler version of these that Maddox has put on the back of his boat.
The funny noise they make comes from the way in which the jet makes its power.
This old boat could be a record holder
In his video, Maddox had clearly enjoyed his outing on the boat.
“Man, this boat really is super controllable,” he said, highlighting the ease with which it handles.
The video suggested there are a few niggles still to sort out on the boat.
“It was making all kinds of fuel noises, I’ve probably got a fuel pump out or something,” he added.
Yet this isn’t the end of the road for this particular project.
“I’m going to do a lot with this boat, and put a twin engine on it,” Maddox said in the video.
Given the speed of the vessel, with two pulsejet engines, this should rocket through the water.
That means another world record could be up for grabs for the Oregon YouTuber.
If there was any doubt over a world record with one engine, two engines should end the debate in an instant.
Jet engine timeline
150 AD – Hero of Alexandria invents the aeolipile, a steam-powered device demonstrating the basic jet principle
1930 – Frank Whittle successfully patents the first design for a working gas turbine jet engine
1937 – Hans von Ohain tests his first centrifugal turbojet engine prototype in Germany
1939 – The Heinkel He 178 makes the first successful flight powered entirely by a jet engine
1941 – The Gloster E.28/39 completes the first British jet flight using Whittle’s engine design
1944 – The Messerschmitt Me 262 enters combat service as the world’s first operational jet fighter
1949 – The de Havilland Comet makes its maiden flight to become the first commercial jet airliner
1958 – The Boeing 707 enters commercial service and officially kicks off the global Jet Age
1969 – Concorde takes off for the first time to pioneer supersonic passenger jet travel
The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
DISCOVER SBX CARS:
CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. — DNA analysis has identified the remains found in a car in the Columbia River as those of an Oregon family that went missing in 1958 while on a trip to find Christmas greenery, authorities said Thursday.
The state medical examiner’s office has identified parents Kenneth and Barbara Martin and their daughter Barbie from remains located in the river within the wreckage of the car, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office said. The sheriff’s office said it concluded its investigation and found no evidence of a crime.
The Ford station wagon thought to belong to the family was found in 2024 by a diver who had been looking for it for several years. Authorities pulled part of the car from the river the following year.
The family vanished in December of 1958. The bodies of two of the family’s children were found months after the disappearance, but the other members never turned up.
The search for the Martin family was a national news story at the time and led some to speculate about the possibility of foul play, with a $1,000 reward offered for information.
“Where do you search if you’ve already searched every place logic and fragmentary clues would suggest?” an Associated Press article asked in 1959, months after the disappearance.
Only the frame and some attached components were retrieved from the water because of the “extent to which the vehicle had been encased in sediment,” the sheriff’s office said. Analysis of those items allowed investigators to conclude that it was indeed the Martin family’s car.
Later in 2025, the diver located human remains that were ultimately turned over to the state medical examiner’s office.
Scientists developed DNA extracts from the remains and generated a profile that was compared with relatives of the Martin family, allowing for the identifications, authorities said.
-
Idaho48 seconds ago
Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on April 18, 2026
-
Illinois7 minutes ago5 tornadoes confirmed in Illinois from Friday’s storms
-
Indiana13 minutes agoAn Indiana district turned to voters to fund more preschool seats. Here’s what happened next.
-
Iowa19 minutes agoVote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)
-
Kansas25 minutes agoKansas Losing Momentum With Key Transfer Target After New Visits
-
Kentucky31 minutes agoKentucky is poised to land either Donnie Freeman or Sebastian Rancik this weekend, per report
-
Louisiana37 minutes ago‘Growth pays for growth’: Entergy’s Fair Share Plus model to save Louisiana customers $2.8 billion
-
Maine43 minutes ago18 jaw-dropping views from Katahdin to help you plan for warmer weather