Attorneys Seek Emergency Order to Halt Warrantless ICE Arrests in Oregon
EUGENE, Ore.—Attorneys at Innovation Law Lab filed a motion Friday asking a federal court to halt ICE's practice of conducting warrantless immigration arrests in Oregon. If granted, Oregon would join Washington, D.C. and Colorado in stopping them.
Since October ICE has launched operations across Oregon that have torn apart families and devastated communities. Arrests have surged 1,400% over prior months and 7,900% over the prior year.
Victor Cruz Gamez, a construction worker and plaintiff in the case, was driving home from work when masked agents stopped him, called him an "illegal," and detained him without a warrant. Cruz Gamez has lived in the United States for 25 years and has lawful work authorization. ICE held him for three weeks, pressuring him to self-deport despite his legal status.
At the center of the case is plaintiff M-J-M-A-, a farmworker detained in the October 30 Woodburn sweep. DHS calls it Operation Black Rose. During her December evidentiary hearing, government agents testified under oath about how it actually works: using surveillance technology to identify "target rich" locations; targeting geographic areas rather than individuals; operating under quotas of eight arrests per day; creating warrants after people are already detained.
“Their own agents admitted it: quotas, manufactured paperwork, entire neighborhoods targeted. This is by design,” said Stephen Manning, executive director at Innovation Law Lab. “You can't just grab people and figure out the justification later. But that's exactly what ICE is doing.”
The motion asks the court to stop ICE's unlawful policy of “arrest first, justify later.” It seeks class-action status on behalf of all Oregonians arrested without a warrant and without the legally required assessment of flight risk.
“Federal agents have been terrorizing our communities for months," said Isa Peña, director of strategy at Innovation Law Lab. "We're going to court to demand what the Constitution requires: accountability.”
The case filings are online here.
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