EUGENE, Ore.—Oregon community members and immigration attorneys testified in federal court today about ICE’s systemic denial of access to counsel, describing how Oregonians are being swept up in the surge of violent and lawless ICE enforcement across the state.
The evidentiary hearing before Judge Aiken in the U.S. District Court of Oregon, is part of CLEAR Clinic v Noem, a class-action lawsuit challenging ICE, CBP, and DHS over constitutional violations at ICE facilities in Oregon.
“Today the court heard what Oregon communities are living through,” said Kelsey Provo, associate legal director at Innovation Law Lab. “Workers arrested on their way to work, attorneys threatened with trespass for trying to meet with their clients. We’re asking the court to protect the rights that belong to everyone.”
Marlina Campos, organizing director of PCUN, testified that PCUN members and their families are afraid of everyday tasks like pumping gas or going to get groceries. Some have even been afraid to take their kids to school following violent ICE arrests at school dropoffs.
Campos testified about farmworkers arrested while driving to work. “Their lunch and their coffee was left in the work vehicle still,” she said. “When someone got to the truck, the coffee was still hot. They were taken to Tacoma and didn't even get access to counsel.”
She also described a farmworker who had lived in Oregon for over 40 years, who was detained on her way to work. “She doesn't have anybody back in Mexico, she hasn't been there in over 40 years. She didn't get access to an attorney,” Campos said.
Katrina Kilgren, an immigration attorney in Eugene, said she has not been allowed past the lobby of the Eugene ICE office since September—and she was threatened with trespassing on one occasion for attempting to access a client.
Josephine Moberg, a staff attorney at CLEAR Clinic said ICE will only allow visits through plexiglass without a phone. Attorneys and clients can only speak through the small holes in the glass. But more often, Moberg testified, attorneys are blocked from meeting with clients at all.
Leon X, a DACA recipient who has lived in Oregon since age six, testified about the government’s assertion that he could be subject to removal despite his protected status: “Just ultimate betrayal. The worst nightmares that we had since DACA came out. It’s just a slap in the face.”
The plaintiffs are seeking to ensure Oregonians have meaningful access to counsel before being transferred out of state.
Today’s hearing fell on International Migrants Day and the first Day Without an Immigrant, an economic boycott for Oregonians organized by PCUN and partners.
The lawsuit is online at: https://innovationlawlab.org/case/clear-clinic-v-noem.
Oregonians who need immigration legal services can enroll in Equity Corps of Oregon (ECO) by calling 1-888-274-7292.
