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Residents urge Newberg council to probe ICE activity after reports near schools
Summary
Multiple Newberg residents described recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence — including drones, a helicopter, unmarked vehicles and alleged unlicensed plates — near Edwards Elementary and elsewhere, and asked the City Council and police to verify federal-agent identity and investigate possible phone outages tied to the same day.
Dozens of residents called on the Newberg City Council on Dec. 1 to address recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in and around the city, including near Edwards Elementary School, and to clarify how the Newberg-Dundee Police Department will verify identities and protect residents.
The concerns began when Casey Banks, a volunteer rapid responder, described seeing “drones and a helicopter... throughout that day,” multiple ICE vehicles with no license plates and one vehicle speeding in city limits. Banks asked the police department to work with the school district’s IT staff to investigate a same-day telephone outage and “make those findings available publicly.”
Why it matters: Speakers said the presence and tactics of federal agents — as described in multiple public comments — have generated fear among immigrant families, disrupted daily activities and raised questions about whether local agencies are offering sufficient protections or public information.
Several speakers offered firsthand accounts. Sonda Martin told councilors the immigrant community “brings enormous cultural and economic value” and asked how the city will protect community members from “the unlawful targeting arrest and detainment by ICE agents.” Student Rainey Sweetman urged a local policy requiring federal agents to identify themselves and use marked vehicles; she cited Title 8, section 287.8 of the U.S. Code and asked the council not to allow agents to “operate below this already low standard.”
Other residents said incidents have included masked, armed agents conducting detentions, property damage and the use of unmarked vehicles. Jessica Yu referenced an earlier local deportation of community member Moises Sotelo and said at least 15 families countywide have been affected in the past six months. Andy Byerly urged the council to publicly reaffirm compliance with state law (ORS 181.820), which limits use of local resources to enforce civil immigration law without a judicial warrant.
Council response and next steps: The council did not take immediate formal action on the ICE-related public comments during the meeting. Staff and several councilors acknowledged the concerns and the need for clarity: speakers asked the Newberg-Dundee Police Department to confirm how it would respond to 911 calls involving claims of federal detainment and to provide public guidance. Mayor Rosacker closed the public comment period and moved to other agenda items. The council did not adopt a formal resolution on the topic at this meeting.
What to watch next: Residents asked the council to publish a public statement clarifying whether city resources will be used to assist federal civil immigration enforcement, to share any findings from a police–school IT review of the phone outages, and to consider whether the city should issue multilingual guidance for affected families.
