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oregon
'I’m Scared For My Parents': Oregon Teen Pleads With City Council to Rein In ICE
“As a 16-year-old, I shouldn’t be scared," said the boy at a meeting in a Portland suburb. "I should be focusing on school.”
Nov 07, 2025
The testimony of a 16-year-old from Hillsboro, Oregon at a city council meeting this week gave a clear picture of what it's like to be a young person in a community that's been targeted by President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign, with the boy describing his fear of being detained by masked federal agents at school or of his parents being taken away while they are at work.
“I just want to tell you guys that I’m scared for my parents to walk out the house because I might not be able to say goodbye to them if they go to work,” the teenager, who was identified as Manny, told Hillsboro City Council on Tuesday at a meeting where residents of the Portland suburb gave more than three hours of public testimony on the impact of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the town.
The Portland Immigration Rights Coalition told Oregon Public Broadcasting this week that at least 135 people have been arrested by ICE and other federal agencies in Washington County, where Hillsboro is located, since Trump deployed them to the Portland area.
The county, which is the most diverse in Oregon, declared a state of emergency this week over immigration enforcement, allowing officials to use $200,000 in contingency funds for community organizations that help residents impacted by the surge in arrests.
Manny was one of many residents who spoke at the meeting, calling on city councilors to do more to oppose the federal operations and demand that city police work to protect the community from ICE.
“I might not ever be able to say bye or see [my parents] again if you guys don’t side with us," he said in the statement, which went viral on social media after the meeting. "And I’m scared because of it, because they fought so hard to come here and choose a life for their kids.”
Devastating— “I’m afraid for my parents to leave the house. They treat us like dogs because of the color of our skin. I shouldn’t be scared, I should be focusing on school.”
A 16yo American living in fear of the Trump regime’s ICE goons terrorizing brown people pleads for help. pic.twitter.com/fDgKfLPeHl
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) November 6, 2025
He drew applause when he said Trump "acts like a child," and went on to describe the anxiety he lives with daily as federal agents make arrests in the area.
"I'm scared that I'm never going to be able to see all my friends again, I'm scared that their parents are gonna be gone one day, I'm scared that all of us are gonna have to fend for ourselves, and I'm scared that one day at school, that I'm gonna get held by people... that I can't identify because they wear masks," he said.
“As a 16-year-old, I shouldn’t be scared," he added. "I should be focusing on school.”
Other residents described being afraid to send their children to school, and Juan Pedro Moreno Olmeda, a soccer coach at Hillsboro High Shool, was joined by several students as he described the toll ICE arrests are taking on children in the community.
"We recently had one of our teammates lose a father and two uncles, and another lose their older brother; they were taken by ICE,” Moreno Olmeda said. “I want you to look at these kids and think about all the sacrifices that they would have to go through to become that financial pillar for their household. They would maybe have to stop going to school. They would have to give up on soccer for sure. They would have to find jobs in order to become that pillar for their household.”
Hillsboro resident Sandra Nuñez-Smith added that her brother had been arrested by ICE in front of his stepson.
“He had just gotten into his car, and his stepson was barely getting into the back seat when he was pushed out of the way by an ICE agent—or bounty hunter—so they could get to my brother,” she told council members. “He was wrongfully taken due to a paperwork error at the county clerk’s office. He was not given his rights or due process, and no effort was made to investigate the current status of his case.”
Hillsboro is a sanctuary city and its police do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, but Mayor Beach Pace and Police Chief Jim Coleman said last month that city authorities also "cannot intervene in ICE operations and cannot assist or protect individuals from federal arrest or legal consequences if they interfere with ICE operations."
Manny was among the residents who called on the City Council to pass ordinances to protect residents, hold masked and unidentified agents accountable for assaulting and detaining people, and provide guidance to local businesses on prohibiting ICE from their premises.
Police, said Hillsboro resident and former Washington County sheriff’s deputy Red Wortham, "can set a standard. They can document what happens, respond to emergency calls, and make it clear that follow-up will occur later."
"It is a significant failure of law enforcement to ignore calls," said Wortham, "about terrifying, dangerous, armed takeovers of cars, businesses, and people by seemingly private armed thugs in masks.”
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Governors Warn of 'Martial Law' and Trump 'Invasion' as US Judge Halts Troop Order—for Now
"This is a moment where every American must speak up and help stop this madness," declared Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Oct 06, 2025
A federal judge in Oregon issued a new and broader order on Sunday night to halt President Donald Trump from deploying any National Guard troops—regardless of their state of origin—to Oregon, Illinois, or elsewhere, as Democratic governors resisting the president warned of a frightening escalation in his authoritarian tendencies.
U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut, who on Saturday ruled that Trump could not lawfully federalize National Guard troops from California for deployment to Portland, Oregon, issued a second order after the president mobilized 400 National Guard troops out of Texas, with the blessing of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, to deploy instead.
"It seems to me that based on the conduct of the defendants and the now seeking National Guard from Texas to go to Oregon again, I see those as direct contravention of the order [...] issued yesterday," said Immergut, nominated to the federal bench by Trump during his first term.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, who brought the challenge with the request for a temporary restraining order (TRO), explained the ruling and the events leading up to it in a Sunday night video statement:
Late tonight, a federal judge issued a sweeping new order prohibiting the president from deploying National Guard forces—from any state or DC—to Oregon.
The president can’t keep playing whack-a-mole w/ different states’ Guard units to get around court orders & the rule of law. pic.twitter.com/X8hhZBSFhx
— Attorney General Dan Rayfield (@AGDanRayfield) October 6, 2025
California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration had challenged the order to send the California soldiers, applauded the ruling after calling Trump's effort to send the Texas troops "a breathtaking abuse of the law and power by the President of the United States."
"America is on the brink of martial law," said Newsom. "Do not be silent."
According to the Associated Press:
Approximately 100 California National Guard troops landed in Portland after midnight Sunday and around 100 more arrived by early evening, Alan Gronewold, commander of Oregon’s National Guard, said in a court filing before the emergency hearing late Sunday.
The state of Oregon also included in its filing a memo written by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that ordered up to 400 Texas National Guard personnel activated for deployment to Oregon, Illinois and possibly elsewhere.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, also a Democrat, issued a stark warning about the president's effort to send soldiers to Chicago, where ramped-up immigration enforcement raids have roiled the city and terrorized community members.
"We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion," said Pritzer. "It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state’s military troops."
"The president is abusing his power, attempting to militarize our cities. The power of the people must remain greater than the people in power. We need to show up in peaceful protest across this nation. Stay Loud!"
—Rep. Maxine Dexter
Pritzker called on Abbott to withdraw his support for Trump's deployment, saying, "There is no reason a President should send military troops into a sovereign state without their knowledge, consent, or cooperation."
As of this writing, the Trump administration had not responded to Immergut's latest ruling, but an appeal to a higher court is nearly certain.
Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) said while the latest TRO was a vital development, sustained and peaceful protest against Trump's march toward a militarized dictatorship remains essential.
"We cannot rest," said Dexter. "The president is abusing his power, attempting to militarize our cities. The power of the people must remain greater than the people in power. We need to show up in peaceful protest across this nation. Stay Loud!"
Important update! Judge Karin Immergut just issued a broader temporary restraining order that precludes any National Guard troops from being in Oregon for 14 days.
We cannot rest. The President is abusing his power, attempting to militarize our cities. The power of the people… pic.twitter.com/Ii4J1JRpBS
— Congresswoman Maxine Dexter (@RepDexterOR) October 6, 2025
In a Saturday statement, in response to Immergut's initial TRO blocking the deployment of the troops from California, Hina Shamsi of the ACLU said it was vital for the court to block Trump's dangerous move.
"As the founders of this country made abundantly clear, turning troops on civilians is an intolerable threat to our liberties,” said Shamsi.
"When President Trump is trying his best to imperil our First Amendment rights and scare those protesting his cruel policies into silence," she said, "it’s encouraging to see this court ruling based on adherence to law and facts, not the President’s fantasies of beautiful, vibrant American cities as hellscapes.”
In a similar joint statement, the Not Above the Law coalition warned that Trump's effort to deploy Illinois National Guard troops despite Prizker's objection "isn't about public safety, it's about testing how far a president can override elected state leaders and deploy forces against American communities."
"Turning troops on civilians is an intolerable threat to our liberties."
—Hina Shamsi, ACLU
“The pattern is clear and dangerous. Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Portland, and now Illinois – each time against the will of local officials," said the coalition's co-chairs in their statement. "Our armed forces exist to defend the nation and protect our freedoms – not to patrol our own streets. And our nation’s brave servicemembers should not be used as the political pawns of a would-be authoritarian."
The coalition leaders said that lawmakers in Congress, who are nowhere to be seen this weekend due to Republicans in the House holding the chamber in recess, "must act now to prevent any president from weaponizing our National Guard this way. Whether you're a red or a blue state, every American should be alarmed when federal troops are deployed over the objections of local authorities. Americans in every community must speak out now. Stopping this abuse of power is essential to protecting our freedoms and our democracy.”
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Oregon Files Suit Against Trump to Stop 'Unlawful' National Guard Deployment
"We won’t be cowed, and we can’t let this president normalize military and armed federal policing in our country. This is not how a healthy democracy works.”
Sep 29, 2025
Calling a move by President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard soldiers to the city of Portland, Oregon, completely "unlawful," state and city officials on Sunday filed a lawsuit to block the effort as they accused the Trump White House of overstepping its authority.
The 41-page federal lawsuit challenging the "unlawful deployment" order was filed in the US District Court of Oregon and names Trump as well as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
A statement from the office of Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield says the lawsuit, backed by Gov. Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, argues that Trump "lacks authority" under Title 10 of the US code, which only permits federalization of National Guard troops, typically under the command of state governors, "only in circumstance of invasion, rebellion, or when federal laws cannot otherwise be executed. None of those circumstances exist in Oregon."
The suit, which states that the "heavy-handed deployment of troops threatens to escalate tensions" and foment "new unrest" in the city, asks the court for immediate relief by declaring the Trump administration's order unlawful and halting any such deployment.
"Oregon communities are stable, and our local officials have been clear: we have the capacity to manage public safety without federal interference," said Rayfield. "Sending in 200 National Guard troops to guard a single building is not normal."
"What we're seeing is not about public safety," he continued, "it's about the President flexing political muscle under the guise of law and order, chasing a media hit at the expense of our community."
As of 2pm today - less than 6 hours after receiving formal notice that the President had federalized Oregon’s National Guard in Portland - we filed a lawsuit.
The president has overstepped his authority.
#portland #nationalguard #orpol pic.twitter.com/GjO7yp9Wi4
— Attorney General Dan Rayfield (@AGDanRayfield) September 28, 2025
The ACLU on Sunday characterized Trump's claim that Portland was "war-ravaged" as false on its face and condemned the order as illegal and dangerous.
"This major escalation from the President and the federal government has no place in our politics or our communities,” said Sandy Chung, ACLU of Oregon’s executive director. “Oregonians have for months been exercising their constitutional right to criticize cruel federal policies. A forcible deployment of federal troops and armed law enforcement violates our right to govern ourselves and endangers our families and freedoms.”
In a news interview on Sunday, Rayfield denounced the numerous and "absurd" things Trump has both said and done in the name of "public safety" that are wholly counter to what's needed.
"If you really wanted public safety, you wouldn’t threaten to send the United States military into any city. What you’d do is pick up the phone and work toward collaboration—finding out what resources a community actually needs," Rayfield said.
"I know for a fact, from talking to cities across Oregon and across the country, that if you pick up the phone and ask, 'What do you need? What could be helpful?' The answer would not be the United States military."
Oregon AG Rayfield: If you really wanted public safety, you wouldn’t threaten to send the United States military into any city.
What you’d do is pick up the phone and work toward collaboration—finding out what resources a community actually needs.
I know for a fact, from… pic.twitter.com/ndaJRlxP0g
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 28, 2025
Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Project, put the situation in Portland in a broader context, as it's not the first city where Trump has aimed National Guard soldiers, and it's unlikely to be the last.
“Like for other cities, President Trump’s justification for deploying troops and armed federal agents to Portland is blatantly false and inflammatory, as well as jeopardizes residents’ fundamental liberties,” warned Shamsi.
"After a harrowing week for our First Amendment freedoms, we see the President’s strategy for what it is—an attempt to create conflict where there is none, sow fear in our communities, and intimidate people from exercising their constitutional rights," she added. "But we won’t be cowed, and we can’t let this president normalize military and armed federal policing in our country. This is not how a healthy democracy works.”
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