ICE detains 21 farmworkers during multi-agency drug raids across Southern Oregon
Federal and local officers served nearly a dozen search warrants across Jackson and Josephine counties, Oregon, as part of a two-year investigation into a drug-trafficking organization. Community monitoring group Rogue Valley Migra Watch reported at least 21 people were detained over two days, most of them agricultural workers at cannabis farms in Medford, Ruch, Central Point, Eagle Point, Rogue River, Jacksonville, and Cave Junction, including at least 8 workers detained at a Cave Junction farm on White School House Rd. Witnesses documented GEO Group detention vans, operator of the Northwest Detention Center, at the sites, and one detained person was treated by emergency responders while in handcuffs. The Cave Junction operation involved the FBI, Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team, Josephine County Sheriff, Oregon State Police, and ICE. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office said it did not coordinate with ICE on immigration enforcement and that deputies were not told immigration detentions were planned, citing Oregon's sanctuary law barring local cooperation with federal immigration agencies; Medford police said their role was limited to supporting the criminal investigation. Advocates raised concerns the sanctuary law may have been violated, while ICE and the FBI have not publicly identified those detained or confirmed the total count.
