Congresswoman Bynum Demands Answers from ICE Amid Alarming Reports of Targeted Raids in Central Oregon
Oregon City, OR – Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (OR-05) is calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to clarify whether it is targeting immigrant communities during moments of crisis or other essential trips, including while individuals seek fire evacuation resources or simply grocery shopping. In light of recent reports of ICE activity during wildfire evacuations and at local supermarkets, Bynum is demanding transparency and accountability, raising serious concerns about potential civil rights violations and the undermining of public safety during Oregon’s wildfire season.
“These kinds of terror missions aren’t law enforcement, they’re state-sponsored fear,” said Congresswoman Bynum. “We’ve seen this before in America: government agents using moments of crisis to intimidate and control, just like the hoses and dogs turned on students and ministers, mothers and fathers, standing up and demanding their freedoms in the South. If ICE is targeting immigrants at grocery stores or fire evacuation sites, it’s not just cruel, it’s a threat to public safety. We cannot normalize masked men in unmarked cars anymore than we normalize lynch mobs and slave patrols. This is a new America and we will not turn back.”
“What we’re seeing is cruel, illegal, and un-American. We need to work together as a community to fight back against these raids and keep families together and safe. We appreciate Congresswoman Bynum speaking out and we’ll continue working with her to put an end to these raids,” said Catalina Sánchez Frank, Executive Director of Latino Community Association.
In recent weeks, community advocates and legal observers have documented ICE agents taking seven laborers from a housing build site and driving through neighborhoods at increased frequency. Community stores that sell food predominantly to the Latino community are experiencing a steep drop in sales and decreased inventory as individuals are afraid to put themselves or their family at risk. Businesses are unable to operate because their workforce is forced to choose between showing up to work or keeping themselves and their families safe from ICE. Constituents are carrying their passports out of fear that they may be profiled. During the Alder Springs Fire, level 3 evacuations were ordered for many members of the central Oregon community. Latino Community Association stated that no families engaged their critical services during the evacuation out of fear they would be detained or taken. These actions have created a climate of fear in Central Oregon, where immigrant families are being forced to choose between seeking safety and risking detention.
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