Now that the second Trump administration has begun, the president’s promised expulsion of unauthorized immigrants is beginning to materialize. In Bend, community organizations, immigration attorneys and city officials are figuring out how to help people know their rights if they’re approached by federal immigration agents.

In a written statement Monday, Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler addressed the fears and uncertainty brought on by what she called “rapid-fire changes to immigration policy.” She reiterated that Bend officials would adhere to Oregon’s Sanctuary Promise Act.

“I want to be clear that the city’s policies follow state mandates prohibiting the use of city resources for federal immigration enforcement,” Kebler said.

She emphasized “the city is not an immigration services provider,” and shared the following list of external resources in Central Oregon:

Latino Community Association

ACLU of Oregon

Oregon Department of Justice Community Toolkit

Oregon Department of Human Services - Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement

National Immigration Law Center

Oregon State University – Dreamers and Undocumented Students

Immigrant Legal Resource Center

Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project

Provided by the City of Bend

Meanwhile, the region’s largest Latino advocacy organization scrambled to respond to the president’s threats of mass deportation.

“We are just kind of building the ship as we’re floating,” said Latino Community Association Executive Director Catalina Frank.

The nonprofit was set to hold two know your rights workshops over the weekend at local libraries. They hastily moved the planned events online due to the organizer’s fears of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showing up. Then, the workshops were cancelled.

Last month, rumors on social media spread about ICE agents being in Bend. ICE spokesperson David Yost said he could not confirm detentions or arrests.

With the help of the organization’s grassroots network, Frank said she learned immigration agents were in Bend and had detained one person the weekend after the presidential inauguration.

Frank said she’s concerned ICE will continue to detain people in Central Oregon, partly because the state’s sanctuary status could make it a target of the administration.

In 2020, ICE agents attracted national attention in Bend when they detained two men in buses in a hotel parking lot. Over the course of the day, people gathered to stop the detentions.

Frank, who’s from Colombia, attended the protest and sat in front of the buses to stop them from leaving. She said she watched the numbers grow from hundreds to thousands by midnight.

“That day for me marked my story as an immigrant here, because I felt like I belonged,” she said.

Immigration attorney Micaela Guthrie was also at the 2020 protest. She believes the residents of Bend would show up in the same way as before if similar arrests happened.

“It’s much easier to say, ‘Oh, that could have been my neighbor, or that could have been the shop owner down the street,’” she said, “and I think that that’s one of the things about Bend is that we seem to really still care about Bendites.”

During Trump’s previous term, in speeches he frequently vilified immigrants and Mexican people in particular. But, Guthrie said now, “it is more blatant what this administration wants to accomplish.”

President Trump signed a flurry of executive orders targeting immigrants during his first days returning to the White House. On the campaign trail, he promised the largest mass deportation in U.S. history.

Guthrie wants her clients to be prepared.

Instead of just telling people about their potential paths to citizenship or residency and letting them take time to decide, she said she’s been encouraging them to take action sooner, and to know their rights.

If a person is stopped by ICE, she said, they have constitutional protections regardless of their citizenship status.

Those protections include the right to remain silent and the right to consult an attorney. Guthrie said people can tell ICE they’re exercising their Fifth Amendment rights. “It doesn’t mean they’re not going to detain you, but at least you’re taking a stand in exercising your rights.”

She pointed to a small red card that citizens and non-citizens alike can show immigration agents. It also tells them what to do in case ICE shows up at their home or what to say if they’re stopped on the street.

Both Frank and Guthrie expressed fears about potential racial profiling by immigration agents.

“Anyone that looks [like] they’re a Latino immigrant can be taken and separated from their family without rhyme or reason,” Frank said.

In New Jersey last month, a military veteran was detained by ICE at a job site according to numerous news reports. A person must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident to join the military. The U.S. Congressional Hispanic Caucus sent out a press release in response, expressing “profound concern” about the detention and ongoing ICE actions.

“If you appear to be not a person of color, it’s going to be much easier for you to fly under the radar,” said Guthrie.

Enrique Vallejo carries a red card wherever he goes. “I do have one in my wallet in case something happens,” he added, “it’s been in my wallet for years and years.” The Bend resident suggested other people carry the card as well.

People can find the printable red cards online in multiple languages from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, or make large orders at Redcardorders.com.

Frank said LCA is printing cards and handing out QR codes that people can scan with their phones.

People can also get information on what to prepare in case a friend or loved one is detained by ICE. They can request information from the LCA by email or visiting the offices in Bend, Madras, Prineville or Redmond, “if they feel safe,” Frank said.

Andrés Portela, Bend’s equity and inclusion director, said the city is relying on trusted messengers like LCA and ODOJ to inform people.

In addition to Oregon’s sanctuary status, Bend’s welcoming city status means the city has made a “commitment to immigrant inclusion,” according to the Welcoming America website.

Oregon has also been considered a sanctuary state since 1987, and that designation expanded through the Sanctuary Promise Act, passed in 2021.

Under the law, local police departments, sheriffs departments and all state and local agencies are not allowed to participate in federal immigration arrests or detentions without a warrant signed by a judge or magistrate.

The Oregon Department of Justice website breaks down the Sanctuary Promise Act and how to report violations. Portela said sanctuary laws can also leave local leaders in the dark and scrambling to verify social media posts and word of mouth.

“The federal government could move in fairly swiftly and then show up and do their thing and not notify [local law] enforcement,” he said.

“Oregon Sanctuary Laws say:

• You do not have to share and you should not be asked about your country of birth, immigration, or citizenship status by state or local law enforcement or government agencies. There are exceptions.
• You may not be investigated or interrogated by state or local law enforcement for immigration enforcement purposes.
• Your country of birth, immigration or citizenship status information should not be stored or shared by state or local government agencies or law enforcement. There are exceptions.
• Your information should not be shared by state or local law enforcement to assist in detaining you or any individual for immigration purposes.
• All requests from federal agencies to state or local government agencies or law enforcement about immigration enforcement without a judicial order should be documented, reported and denied by the local agency receiving the request.
• You cannot be arrested from a court facility, or while you are traveling to or from court, with any immigration warrant except a judicial warrant or order signed by a judge (for more information about different types of warrants, see our Glossary).
• State or local law enforcement or public agencies must refuse and reject collaboration with federal authorities for immigration enforcement purposes, including setting up traffic stops or traffic perimeters to enforce federal immigration laws/orders.
• You can access certain government services without being asked about your immigration status.
• You can take legal action against violators of Oregon’s sanctuary laws.
• If Oregon’s sanctuary laws are being violated by a state or local police officer, state trooper, sheriff’s deputy, either during their employment time or off duty time, or by a government worker, you can report the violation to the Sanctuary Promise Hotline.”

Oregon Department of Justice

“If you suspect a violation of Oregon’s sanctuary laws, we want to hear from you. Suspected violations can be reported through this online portal (available in 9 languages by using the language menu in the upper righthand corner of this screen) or the Sanctuary Promise Hotline at 1-844-924-STAY (1-844-924-7829). Call us in any language. We have a direct access Spanish language website at PromesaSantuario.Oregon.gov with a Spanish direct dial hotline at 1-844-6-AMPARO (1-844-626-7276).”

Oregon Department of Justice

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/05/central-oregon-leaders-respond-as-trumps-deportation-promises-take-shape/