Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers on Thursday arrested a group of farmworkers near Woodburn as they headed to harvest blueberries, according to Oregon for All, an immigration rights advocacy group.
The incident marks the first publicly known ICE arrests of fieldworkers in Oregon since President Donald Trump took office for his second term. Last month, immigration authorities arrested a parent as he was dropping off his child at a Beaverton daycare, and in June ICE agents arrested workers from a Yamhill County vineyard services company.
Those arrested near Woodburn are reportedly members of the Indigenous Mam Nation of Guatemala, Oregon for All said.
In 2017 — during the first Trump administration — immigration officials detained 10 workers near Woodburn. Most of them were also from Guatemala.
ICE officials did not respond Friday or Saturday to The Oregonian/OregonLive’s questions about the incident.
Marta Guembes, honorary consul for Guatemala in Portland, on Friday confirmed the arrests of a group of Guatemalan workers who lived in Woodburn and were on their way to work at a field where they picked berries.
Guembes said it’s her understanding that ICE stopped the group around 5:50 a.m. Thursday.
“But not everybody was arrested,” she said. Two women and a teenage girl were released, Oregon for All reported.
She said she heard that those arrested were men and one woman. They were detained because they are in the country without documentation, she said.
Oregon for All in a news release said witnesses reported ICE agents broke the driver’s side window of the van.
“These tactics will only scare folks from working during the peak harvest,” said Reyna Lopez, executive director of PCUN, Oregon’s farmworker union. “This not only affects farmworkers’ ability to support their families, but also the many growers who rely on migrant labor and our collective ability to put food on our tables.”
Guembes said she learned about the arrests around 9:30 a.m. Thursday and immediately contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to locate the group.
Guembes said she was able to interview two of the arrested men that morning at the South Portland ICE office. She said she was informed the others declined a consular consultation.
The two men she spoke with were in good health and made no complaints about human rights violations, she said. Their parents and their wives, who live in Guatemala, were informed about the arrests, she said.
She said ICE planned to take the men to Tacoma on Thursday.
The Guatemalan Consulate doesn’t offer legal representation, Guembes said.
“My consular visit was to let them know that the Guatemalan government is looking out for all its nationals who are here,” she said. “And to talk to them and ask them if their human rights were protected, and about their health and who we can contact.”
Guembes said she doesn’t believe immigration authorities are targeting people from Guatemala. Rather, she said, the Guatemalan community in Oregon is large and growing.
Guembes urged immigrant families, especially those with children, to put together a plan to be prepared in the event of immigration enforcement. That will result in fewer barriers “for the people who are left behind,” she said.
Guembes wanted the public to know that every Guatemalan has the right to a consular consultation if they are detained.
“They are not alone,” she said.
Austin McClister, spokesperson for the Oregon Farm Bureau, said he did not have additional information about the workers but said the bureau has set up a page with resources online.
Robert Brown, with the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, which tracks ICE arrests through a hotline, on Thursday confirmed four arrests took place on the road between Woodburn and Molalla, but he was unable to provide more details.
Brown also confirmed three other arrests were made Thursday in the “vicinity” of the New Seasons in Beaverton’s Cedar Hills neighborhood but said he didn’t know if they happened at the same time.
A TikTok video that has since been removed showed ICE activity in the parking lot in front of the New Seasons store. It showed agents around what appears to be a white van with a ladder on top, and a man being handcuffed.
A local New Seasons manager initially denied any immigration enforcement at the store or nearby. But a New Seasons Market spokesperson later confirmed reports of activity.
“We are aware of reports about an incident that took place in the parking lot of our Cedar Hills store earlier today,” a New Seasons Market spokesperson said by email Thursday. “Our staff were not involved and were not aware of the situation. Because it happened outside the store and did not involve our staff, we have no additional details to share.”
— Yesenia Amaro is on the investigations team. Reach her at 503-221-4395 or yamaro@oregonian.com.
— Tatum Todd is a breaking news reporter who covers public safety, crime and community news. Reach them at ttodd@oregonian.com or 503-221-4313.
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