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Woodburn residents urge sanctuary protections after mass ICE raids
Summary
Dozens of residents told the council they are living in fear after recent ICE enforcement actions that took dozens of community members; speakers called for a local state of emergency, emergency aid and a sanctuary-resolution commitment from the city.
Dozens of Woodburn residents used the city council's public-comment period to call for immediate local action after a series of recent immigration enforcement operations that commenters said detained more than 30 people in a single raid and more than 42 people in the community over recent weeks.
"We are scared. We are not criminals," Joanna, a Ward 6 resident, told the council, pressing elected officials to "be the voice for our community." Student speakers and teachers described children and classrooms traumatized by the raids; Lydia Contreras, a second-grade teacher at Washington Elementary, said she now wakes each day checking social media for reports of activity and pleaded for resources so students can learn without constant fear.
Speakers across the comment period urged the council to declare a local state of emergency, adopt a sanctuary-style resolution that reinforces Oregon's Sanctuary Promise law, and allocate emergency funding for food, shelter and legal support for affected families. Ira Collo Martinez, representing Pecan (Oregon's Farmworker Union), said, "Woodburn must do more to protect its people," and outlined requests for city-supported services and partnerships with local organizations such as Centro de Servicios para Campesinos and the Woodburn Food Bank.
Council members did not adopt any ordinance at the meeting. Mayor Frank Lonergan said the city is constrained by federal law but that city staff, the city attorney and police chief are coordinating on next steps; he said the city has reached out to the Mexican consulate and the office of Congresswoman Salinas. Council members and staff also said they plan to pursue community town halls and to share incident-reporting forms and other resources on the city's website.
The public-comment period ended with the mayor closing further testimony and the council moving on to scheduled presentations. No formal council vote or resolution on sanctuary protections occurred at this meeting.
