(HILLSBORO, OREGON) Hillsboro is grappling with a surge in ICE raids that residents say has shaken schools, emptied businesses, and left families afraid to leave their homes, prompting urgent calls for city action and a packed city council meeting that ran more than three hours. Community members say at least eight arrests occurred over a ten-day span as helicopters circled neighborhoods and federal agents appeared at schools and along busy streets, with four arrests reported on a single day, October 23, 2025.
The case of Victor Cruz, a longtime Hillsboro resident and grandfather, has become a lightning rod in the growing backlash. Cruz was detained by ICE agents on October 14, 2025, despite what his family and supporters say is a valid work permit and Temporary Protected Status. U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici has urged his release, saying,
“Victor should not be in detention. ICE picked him up on October 14, almost three weeks ago, and it certainly looks like this is a case of mistaken identity.”
ICE rejected that claim in a brief statement, saying,
“No one was arrested by mistake. ICE will continue to arrest illegal aliens who have no right to be in this country.”
The dispute has rallied neighbors and teachers who say the ICE raids are sweeping up parents and workers who pose no threat, while federal officials insist they are acting within their authority. For many in Hillsboro, Victor Cruz now stands at the center of a larger fight over who is targeted, how enforcement is conducted, and what city leaders can do in response.
School leaders say the impact on classrooms has been immediate. At Eastwood Elementary School, 75% of students are Hispanic or Latino, and staff say attendance plunged following the parent’s arrest near the campus. Eastwood recorded its highest absentee rate of the year on October 21, the day after the detention about 100 feet from the school on October 20, 2025. Teachers and parents responded by patrolling the neighborhood before and after school. Andy Bunting, a third and fourth grade teacher, said,
“We’re making ourselves present and visible so that our families see we stand with our community and we stand as a message that our students deserve to learn in confidence and not in fear.”
The patrols, organized by educators and supported by families, are meant to reassure anxious children and signal to federal agents that the school community is watching.
District officials say the fallout stretches beyond Eastwood. At Poynter Middle School, where 45% of students are Hispanic or Latino, administrators reported a 2.5% increase in chronic absenteeism—17 students—during the week of heightened ICE activity. Hillsboro School District Communications Director Beth Graser said,
“Our students are experiencing trauma from family members being taken and the worry of more loved ones being impacted.”
Graser later challenged ICE’s justification for operating near campuses, saying,
“If ICE truly believes it is ‘safeguarding schools’ from ‘criminal aliens and gang members’ through its actions near Eastwood and Poynter then, ‘they are operating on faulty intelligence.’ We do not have these problems and have not asked for assistance of this kind.”
Teachers say they launched the patrols out of necessity. Retired Hillsboro teacher Maureen Barnhart joined them, saying,
“Students can’t learn if they’re not in school and they can’t come to school if they don’t feel safe.”
Mary Kay Babcock, president of the Hillsboro Education Association, who helped organize the effort, said,
“This community is not the enemy and they don’t deserve to be targeted.”
Educators describe morning drop-offs where parents hesitate at the curb, scanning for unfamiliar vehicles before sending their children into the building, and afternoon pickups where families leave quickly, heads down, and avoid lingering for after-school programs.
Residents say the enforcement push has extended well beyond school zones. Sharon Trewer, a longtime Hillsboro resident, described using a whistle to alert neighbors when agents are spotted: “You blow the whistle in short bursts if you see ICE around and just to let everyone know that they’re there and then people who are vulnerable can go somewhere else.” Others have formed informal phone trees to share locations, track vehicles, and warn families to stay inside. Several reported that helicopters have flown regularly over residential streets and schoolyards. Gutierrez, a staff member, said,
“We had ICE drive up into our parking lot and be asked to leave (by staff)… We have helicopters that have been flying over our neighborhood, regularly. We’ve had people taken just down the street at the Burger King so it’s all around us. It really feels like this area is being targeted heavily.”
Residents say the flights appear to be linked to operations out of Hillsboro Airport, which has drawn noise complaints as federal aircraft lift off early and return late.
ICE officials say they have changed how they approach so-called “sensitive locations,” which under prior guidance typically included schools and places of worship. A spokesperson said,
“ICE is safeguarding schools and places of worship by preventing criminal aliens and gang members from exploiting them as safe havens, a practice previously restricted under the Biden Administration. DHS now allows its law enforcement agencies to act with supervisory approval, ensuring such actions remain rare and discretionary.”
That stance has intensified pushback from school leaders and civil rights groups who argue the presence of agents near campuses has frightened families with no criminal history and disrupted learning. The agency maintains that enforcement remains targeted and that supervisory review prevents routine arrests at schools.
The timing and location of the recent arrests have deepened the anxiety. Community advocates say at least eight ICE arrests occurred in Hillsboro between October 14 and 23, 2025, with four on Thursday, October 23 alone. District staff said one parent was detained within sight of the Eastwood campus. At a nearby fast-food restaurant, residents watched as agents detained people “just down the street at the Burger King,” according to the staff account. The operations, described as concentrated in late October and early November, have left many families in Hillsboro—home to a large Latino community—rethinking everyday routines like grocery shopping or visiting a doctor.
Businesses that serve Latino customers have reported a sudden drop in traffic. A city councilor urged residents to step in, saying,
“If you are hungry, go to a Latino restaurant. Support the Latino community because their clientele is staying home, understandably because of ICE.”
The plea reflects what shop owners and workers say they’ve seen since the arrests: quiet dining rooms at lunch, slower evenings, and cancellations for community events. In neighborhoods where Hillsboro families typically gather on weekends, residents say sidewalks that were once crowded with strollers and children on bikes are now mostly empty.
The intensifying strain spilled into a Hillsboro City Council meeting that drew an overflow crowd and hours of testimony. Residents pressed council members for stronger protections for immigrant families and faster action to address the ICE raids, with some asking the city to bolster its sanctuary policies and increase funding for legal aid and emergency support. One attendee implored city leaders with a pointed challenge:
“With all due respect, there is way more that you can do.”
City officials listened as parents described children waking at night, fearing a knock on the door, and teachers recounted morning attendance lists with new gaps beside familiar names.
County leaders have signaled they may go further. Washington County officials have declared a state of emergency and are weighing whether to codify sanctuary status in order to free up emergency funds for residents affected by the enforcement push. The proposal comes amid a broader uptick in immigration arrests across the Willamette Valley. Community groups report hundreds detained in the past month, including over 30 arrests in Woodburn on a single day. Local organizations say the pace and scale have strained support networks, prompting rapid coordination among nonprofits to shelter families, replace lost income, and provide legal help to those facing transfer out of Oregon.
More than 100 organizations have joined a coalition to coordinate assistance for immigrant and refugee communities. The list includes PCUN, ACLU of Oregon, and Oregon Food Bank, which are pooling resources to keep families housed, ensure children can attend school, and maintain access to food and medical care as breadwinners disappear into detention. Organizers say they are setting up hotlines, expanding know-your-rights workshops, and creating funds for urgent bills. Teachers in Hillsboro say their patrols are one small part of a broader effort to keep students in class while their parents navigate court dates and detention visits.
Legal advocates are challenging federal practices in court. Innovation Law Lab filed a lawsuit on October 16, 2025, alleging ICE and the Department of Homeland Security are denying detainees access to legal counsel before they are transferred out of Oregon. Attorneys say the sudden moves leave families scrambling to find relatives and strip detainees of the chance to speak with a lawyer who could identify immigration relief. The suit highlights an issue advocates say has grown more acute as arrests rise: the window to secure representation can close within hours if someone is moved to a detention facility in another state.
The federal agency has said it will continue targeted enforcement against people it describes as unlawfully present. In a statement amid growing criticism, ICE said,
“No one was arrested by mistake. ICE will continue to arrest illegal aliens who have no right to be in this country.”
The agency’s position has done little to calm fears in Hillsboro, where parents and teachers say they are adjusting daily routines to avoid contact, and community members are spreading alerts when agents appear. Residents say the effect is cumulative: a helicopter sighting in the morning, a text about a roadside stop at midday, and news of another arrest by evening.
At the school level, the Hillsboro Education Association has remained a visible presence near Eastwood and Poynter. Babcock said the union’s goal is to protect learning time and reassure families who are weighing whether it is safe to cross town. The district’s communications office has fielded questions from nervous parents and issued reminders that attendance remains a priority. Graser said the district did not ask for enforcement near its campuses and disputes the premise that schools are harboring criminal activity, stating that the agency is operating on “faulty intelligence.” Teachers say they are focusing on routines—reading groups, math lessons, lunchtime conversations—to bring a bit of normalcy back into classrooms unsettled by the ICE raids.
Residents have also drawn up their own safety measures. Trewer’s whistle alerts have joined porch lights flicked on and off and waves passed down a row of houses as simple signals to warn neighbors. In apartment courtyards, parents say they have taught children what to do if a parent does not arrive after school. Some families have placed documents in sealed envelopes for teachers or trusted friends, including emergency contacts and care plans for young siblings, in case a parent is detained. Others say they are saving cash and stocking pantries, uncertain how long they might need to stay inside.
County and city officials are now under pressure to outline next steps as of November 6, 2025. Hillsboro leaders have acknowledged the calls for action and are reviewing options shared by advocates during public comment, including emergency funding mechanisms, legal defense support, and measures that could limit local cooperation with federal enforcement. Washington County’s emergency declaration gives officials latitude to redirect resources and, if sanctuary language is codified, to make longer-term policy changes. Community groups say any relief must arrive quickly, as families in Hillsboro face immediate needs—rent due dates, childcare gaps, and missed paychecks—while navigating a confusing legal process.
The situation is evolving across the region, with reports of similar operations in neighboring communities and in agricultural towns where seasonal work winds down as winter approaches. Organizers say the pace of arrests in Woodburn—more than 30 in one day—shows how quickly local support systems can be overwhelmed. For Hillsboro, the response has coalesced around schools, where attendance data offer a real-time measure of stress and where children repeat what they hear at home. Teachers say they are bracing for the long haul, continuing their patrols while the community watches the legal case of Victor Cruz, which has come to symbolize the stakes of the current enforcement push.
Parents and educators say they will persist in making themselves visible near campuses, even as they press elected officials for stronger action. Bunting’s words have become a rallying message among teachers posted at street corners and crosswalks:
“We’re making ourselves present and visible so that our families see we stand with our community and we stand as a message that our students deserve to learn in confidence and not in fear.”
For now, that calm presence—alongside phone trees, whistle blasts, and packed council chambers—has become Hillsboro’s answer to a month defined by ICE raids, low attendance, and restless nights.
Information about ICE operations and policy is available on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website, which provides agency statements and enforcement guidance for the public and media. Readers can consult the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement site for official updates and resources related to enforcement actions and detainee processes.
This Article in a Nutshell
Hillsboro experienced a concentrated series of ICE enforcement actions between October 14 and 23, 2025, prompting community alarm. Victor Cruz’s October 14 detention, despite a reported valid work permit and TPS, galvanized residents, elected officials, and advocates. Arrests near Eastwood Elementary and Poynter Middle School coincided with spikes in absenteeism and teacher-organized neighborhood patrols. Local leaders, nonprofits and legal groups mobilized emergency aid and litigation while Washington County considered sanctuary measures and emergency funding to protect affected families.
