Human Impact Project

A Hispanic mother was detained by immigration agents while working as a delivery driver. The post appeals for help and offers to share a GoFundMe link for those commenting.

On March 28, 2026, a crowd gathered near the Portland ICE building about an hour after the peaceful "No Kings III" march concluded. Protesters damaged the facility's front gate twice and threw rocks at officers and state troopers before police declared an unlawful assembly around 10:10 p.m. and made targeted arrests. Isiah A. Lee, 26, climbed onto the lower roof and vandalized it, resulting in charges of first-degree criminal mischief and second-degree criminal trespass; he was taken to Multnomah County Detention Center. Isaias Laguna, 21, was charged with second-degree criminal mischief, second-degree disorderly conduct, and second-degree criminal trespass, and Robert Stoms, 37, was charged with second-degree criminal mischief.

An Afghan asylum seeker was assured by ICE that two missed check-ins would not be held against him—one due to a double-booked appointment and another due to hospitalization for a heart arrhythmia. Two months after the hospitalization, ICE detained him at work, claiming he was a flight risk for missed check-ins and failing to report a move to Portland. ICE provided no documentary evidence of the violations. U.S. District Judge Kymberly K. Evanson ruled in his favor and released him after 41 days of detention at the Northwest Detention Center.

A 23-year-old Colombian man was detained on March 10, 2026, at an ICE check-in appointment in Eugene based on a pending felony domestic violence assault charge in Linn County. He is an asylum seeker who fled politically motivated violence in Colombia. The alleged victim filed a statement saying she does not fear him and that the arrest does not represent his character as a person or father. Chief U.S. District Judge Michael McShane granted his habeas petition on May 14, 2026, finding the detention unjustified and rejecting the government's broad interpretation of mandatory detention law.

Hugo Rios, a lifelong photographer who works as a freelance photojournalist, is a proud Puerto Rican, Afro-Indigenous, and queer disabled veteran, a parent of two and grandparent of four. Rios was documenting a largely peaceful anti-deportation protest near Portland's ICE building shortly before 10:30 p.m. on September 1, 2025, wearing a helmet, goggles, and a press label, wanting to get footage of what agents were doing out to the public. According to the lawsuit, an officer pushed Rios from behind without warning, and when Rios said they were just filming, an officer shoved them back about four times, striking and damaging their camera. About six minutes later, while Rios stood alone away from the crowd, an officer fired a tear gas canister at their feet, and multiple officers shot Rios with pepper balls and other munitions nearly two dozen times, denting their battery pack. DHS did not respond to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker's request for comment. In November 2025, the ACLU of Oregon sued on behalf of Rios and other plaintiffs; a judge granted a preliminary injunction on March 9, 2026, which a federal appeals court paused on April 27, 2026. Rios says the experience has discouraged them from documenting events at the building.

Jack Dickinson, known around Portland as "the Portland Chicken," has protested outside the city's ICE building in a yellow chicken costume with an American flag over his shoulders, attending about 150 days since April 2025. In his account to the court, on August 16, 2025, a pepper ball struck his respirator and singed the legs of his costume; on August 23, he was shoved by federal agents and shot from the roof of the building. He says that on November 14, 2025, agents targeted him with chemical munitions while he stood wrapped in the flag, posing no threat. On November 21, 2025, he became the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit, Dickinson v. Trump, filed by the ACLU of Oregon alleging First Amendment retaliation. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order on February 3, 2026, and a preliminary injunction on March 9, 2026; a federal appeals court paused it on April 27, 2026, while the appeal continues.

A Laotian refugee who entered the United States in 1988 as a child refugee and was adjusted to lawful permanent resident status was detained by ICE on March 3, 2026, when he reported to the ICE office in Portland, Oregon. He was taken to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. He has a U.S. citizen spouse, one child, and four step-children. A final removal order to Laos was entered on January 5, 2012, but he had been released on Orders of Supervision since May 2015 based on nonremovability. On January 8, 2026, his spouse filed an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. He was served with a Notice of Revocation of Release citing changed circumstances making removal reasonably foreseeable. On April 10, 2026, ICE obtained a Laissez-Passer from Laos valid for 90 days. He filed a habeas corpus petition and motion for temporary restraining order seeking to prevent his removal and transfer pending the court's consideration of his case. On May 1, 2026, the federal magistrate judge denied his motion, finding he had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits because ICE had obtained a valid travel document establishing an unchallenged basis for his detention.

Laurie Eckman, 84, and her husband Richard, 83, a Vietnam War-era Navy veteran who uses a walker, live near the ICE facility in South Portland and walk past it daily. On October 5, 2025, they joined a protest there after seeing it from their kitchen window. Laurie says officers charged at them with no warning or apparent reason and knocked them to the ground, and an agent shot a pepper ball at her head; she was taken to the emergency room, developed a black eye two days later, and was treated for pneumonia for a month. She says doctors told her the pepper ball entered her lung, and she now needs a home oxygen machine. A gas canister was launched at Richard's walker, injuring him; he says he pointed to his Vietnam hat hoping the agent would target someone else, but the agent "opened up on me." Richard says he saw his wife covered in blood later that day. Eyewitnesses confirmed the couple's account to The Oregonian/OregonLive. The Eckmans are plaintiffs in the ACLU of Oregon class action Dickinson v. Trump, filed November 21, 2025, and both were exposed to tear gas again at a January 31, 2026 rally. They testified at the preliminary injunction hearing in March 2026, where Laurie said agents gave no announcement before using gas.

Paulino Martin San Pedro, an undocumented handyman who lived and worked in Beaverton, Oregon for more than 30 years, was detained by ICE agents while driving to get lunch in late 2025. He was deported to Mexico within three days, despite having no criminal record. His arrest occurred during a Pacific Northwest immigration enforcement surge internally called 'Operation Black Rose,' which drove a 600% increase in ICE apprehensions in Multnomah County and a 2,100% increase in Washington County. Community members gathered at Southridge High School to rally in support of Martin, a father of three, with speakers praising his character and work ethic. In February 2026, Martin died in Mexico from complications of pneumonia.

Martin Romero was deported to Mexico while dealing with multiple serious health conditions including lupus vasculitis, hypertension, anemia, and kidney failure requiring dialysis every other day. His daughter created a fundraiser to help cover the costs of his medical treatment, medications, specialist visits, and transportation to dialysis appointments in Mexico, as the family struggles with overwhelming medical expenses.

A 7-year-old girl and her parents from Venezuela were detained by immigration agents outside a Portland hospital emergency department on January 16 while seeking emergency medical care for the child's prolonged nosebleed. After three weeks at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, the family was released on February 7, though Congresswoman Maxine Dexter stated she was unsure why ICE approved their release. The detention marked one of the first confirmed cases of an entire family detained in Oregon during the Trump administration's escalated deportation campaign.

A 19-year-old anti-ICE protester was sprayed with chemical agent by a federal officer during a protest in Portland. The protester was vocal but nonviolent and standing still when sprayed. Video evidence documents the incident.

Thousands of protesters marched to an ICE facility in South Portland on Saturday as part of a "Labor Against ICE" rally organized by local unions. Federal agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls, rubber bullets, and flash-bang grenades after some protesters approached the building's security gate. The protest coincided with a march honoring Alex Pretti, an intensive-care nurse fatally shot by Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis.

Multiple protesters were detained and injured during an anti-ICE demonstration at the Eugene Federal Building on January 27, 2026. Federal officers deployed tear gas, pepper balls, and flash-bangs, detaining at least nine demonstrators. Several protesters reported injuries including bruises, hyperextended limbs, and eye injuries sustained during the law enforcement response.

A 25-year-old Guatemalan woman of indigenous Mam ethnicity was detained on January 16, 2026, at an ICE check-in appointment in Eugene due to a pending felony criminal mistreatment case in Marion County. She claims persecution in Guatemala based on her indigenous heritage and reports her daughter is at risk of violence because her former partner is a gang member. Court records show she was released pending the outcome of her habeas petition after attorneys argued she posed neither a flight risk nor danger to the community.

A family of three from Venezuela—parents Yohendry De Jesus Crespo and Darianny Liseth Gonzalez De Crespo, and their 7-year-old daughter Diana—were detained by immigration officers in a parking lot at Portland Adventist Health on January 16, 2026, while attempting to seek medical care for the child's nosebleed. The family, who entered the U.S. through a port of entry in California and have a pending asylum application, is now being held at ICE's South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.

Misael Garcia Lopez, 48, spent 18 years building a life in Eugene, Oregon with his wife Valeria and three children—Leo, 11, Jasmine, 22, and Luis—working in landscaping, roofing, and other jobs. On November 19, 2025, ICE agents in unmarked vehicles conducted a traffic stop near Meadowlark Prairie minutes after he dropped Leo at school and arrested him for lacking legal status, despite his clean criminal record. Over nearly two months detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, Garcia Lopez received support letters from family, friends, and community members attesting to his work ethic, kindness, and role as a devoted father. His 22-year-old daughter Jasmine, a U.S. citizen and certified nursing assistant, spoke publicly about his case despite her mother's fear. On January 15, 2026, Garcia Lopez accepted voluntary departure and was deported to Mexico, arriving with only 96 cents and no documents. His family remained in Oregon; months later, he watched via video call as his grandson was born.

In December 2025 and January 2026, federal agents posing as utility company employees lured residents out of their homes in Gresham, Oregon, leading to the detention of at least three people, according to state Rep. Ricky Ruiz. Ruiz said agents used the ruse to get one man to leave his house before taking him into custody, and he later contacted NW Natural and Portland General Electric after hearing of similar incidents. Both utilities have since issued customer guidance—NW Natural's published in seven languages—explaining that their employees wear uniforms and badges, never demand immediate home entry, and typically only need yard access to reach meters. ICE did not respond to requests for comment on the incidents.

Miguel Garcia Pazaran and his wife Dulce Maria Trejo Segura were pulled over by immigration agents while driving to work in Hillsboro, Oregon and detained without proper clothing. The couple was taken to a detention center in Tacoma and deported to Mexico within eight days, leaving behind their 2-year-old daughter Sofía, who is a U.S. citizen.

Christian Jimenez, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen and McMinnville High School senior, was detained by ICE agents off school grounds during his lunch period on November 21, 2025. Agents broke his car window and transported him to an ICE facility in South Portland despite his assertions of citizenship, which his family confirmed; ICE alleged he followed and obstructed federal agents in a vehicle and faced potential federal prosecution for impeding law enforcement. He was released later that day. The detention was part of ICE sweeps in Yamhill County that week resulting in at least 7 total detentions, including at least 4 U.S. citizens. McMinnville School District Superintendent Kourtney Ferrua said the district had not previously experienced ICE activity and was working to support students' emotional needs. Students nearby witnessed the detention, and a protest was held in response.